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Bonapartism

British  
/ ˈbəʊnəpɑːˌtɪzəm /

noun

  1. a political system resembling the rules of the Bonapartes, esp Napoleon I and Napoleon III: centralized government by a military dictator, who enjoys popular support given expression in plebiscites

  2. (esp in France) support for the government or dynasty of Napoleon Bonaparte

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • Bonapartist noun

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Mr. Duhamel, the political commentator, identified Macronism as “a civil and democratic Bonapartism, where everything goes up to the leader, and there is a quest for disruption and reform, through the whip.”

From New York Times

Zemmour’s detractors often link him to the Rassemblement National — formerly the National Front — but his true allegiance is to Bonapartism.

From New York Times

He is, perhaps above all, a significant figure owing to the fidelity of his republicanism: from a background that in most places and circumstances would have led, in crisis, toward some form of Bonapartism, he remained a faithful believer in the norms of democracy, in oscillating governments and principled resignation.

From The New Yorker

Others used the terms “Bonapartism” or “Caesarism”.

From The Guardian

In France, the only way that free-market economics have ever become popular is if they’re tinctured with “Bonapartism”—offered as big medicine by some very strong charismatic central leader.

From The New Yorker