24 Ideologies of Change in Europe 1815–1914

> What role did social conflict play in nineteenth-century European politics? Chapter 25 examines political and ideological conflict in nineteenth-century Europe. After 1815 the powers that defeated Napoleon united under a revived conservatism to stamp out the spread of liberal and democratic reforms. In response, powerful ideologies — liberalism, nationalism, and socialism — emerged to oppose conservatism. All played critical roles in the great popular upheaval that eventually swept across Europe in the revolutions of 1848. These revolutions failed, however, and gave way to more sober — and more successful — nation building in the 1860s. European political leaders and middle-class nationalists also began to deal effectively with the challenges of the emerging urban society. One way they did so was through nationalism — mass identification with a nation-state that was increasingly responsive to the needs of its people.