Neo-Bonapartism or neo-Bounapartism refers to political movements focusing around a strong leader, who is often a hero to the people, and upholds - or at least seems to uphold - the ideals of the people. With Bonapartism specifically referring to the case of Napoleon I of France

Napoleon I of France

Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...

, the term neo-Bonapartism first came to use with the rise of Louis Napoleon III

Napoleon III of France

Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte was the President of the French Second Republic and as Napoleon III, the ruler of the Second French Empire. He was the nephew and heir of Napoleon I, christened as Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte...

. However, this is not a true example of what neo-Bonapartism has come to symbolize. M. Raoul Duval is given as example in Contemporary France. Neo-Bonapartism can also be used to specifically refer to movements after Napoleon I, but it need not be confined to such. Ironically, the best example of Bonapartism may be Roman

Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

 dictator

Roman dictator

In the Roman Republic, the dictator , was an extraordinary magistrate with the absolute authority to perform tasks beyond the authority of the ordinary magistrate . The office of dictator was a legal innovation originally named Magister Populi , i.e...

s from the Republican Period

Roman Republic

The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...

, like Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar

Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....

, who attempted to quash the power of the Senate

Roman Senate

The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...

 and advance the rights and welfare of the people.

Neo-Bonapartist leaders are often identified as autocrats, authoritarians, dictators, and despot

Despotism

Despotism is a form of government in which a single entity rules with absolute power. That entity may be an individual, as in an autocracy, or it may be a group, as in an oligarchy...

s and sometimes with fascism

Fascism

Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...

. However, though these leader may use authoritarian methods - most commonly martial law

Martial law

Martial law is the imposition of military rule by military authorities over designated regions on an emergency basis— only temporary—when the civilian government or civilian authorities fail to function effectively , when there are extensive riots and protests, or when the disobedience of the law...

 - they often are sincerely doing what they believe is in the best interest of the people.

Neo-Bonapartists are often similar to enlightened despots, who use their absolute power to advance liberalism

Liberalism

Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...

, freedoms, and social welfare, though in many cases of supposed neo-Bonapartism the exact opposite is achieved; giving rise to bastard movements more like traditional dictatorships. Nationalism

Nationalism

Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...

 is also often a component of neo-Bonapartism, though not a necessary one.

Neo-Bonapartist philosophy is characterized by the leader. It is believed that a strong and capable leader is necessary for the ideals the Bonapartists support - be they left or right, moderate or radical. The leader is usually a great hero of the people - in most historical cases being military in nature - who brings about reforms in their name. This philosophy by itself has never been popular, and thus is almost always used in conjunction with others.