Editing Reactionary (section)

=== Metternich and containment ===
{{see also|Age of Metternich}}
{{Unreferenced section|date=March 2024}}
From 1815 to 1848, [[Prince Metternich]], the [[List of foreign ministers of Austria-Hungary|foreign minister]] of the [[Austrian Empire]], stepped in to organize the [[Cordon sanitaire (politics)|containment of revolutionary forces]] through international [[Political alliance|alliances]] to prevent [[revolutionary]] fervor. At the [[Congress of Vienna]], he was very influential in establishing the new order, the [[Concert of Europe]], after the defeat of [[Napoleon]].

After the Congress, Prince Metternich worked hard to bolster and stabilize the conservative regime of the Restoration period. He worked furiously to prevent Russia's Tsar [[Alexander I of Russia|Alexander I]] (who aided the [[liberalism|liberal]] forces in Germany, Italy, and France) from gaining influence in Europe. The Church was his principal ally. He promoted it as a conservative principle of order while opposing [[nationalist]] and liberal tendencies within the Church. His basic philosophy was based on [[Edmund Burke]], who championed the need for old roots and the orderly development of society. He opposed [[democracy|democratic]] and [[parliament]]ary institutions but favored [[modernization|modernizing]] existing structures through gradual [[reform movement|reform]]. Despite Metternich's efforts, a series of [[1848 Revolutions|revolutions rocked Europe in 1848]].