Scheda Pubblicazione

Dettaglio

• Autore/i
  Vidic, F.
• Titolo pubblicazione
  Duello con Napoleone. Louis Cobenzl da Campoformido a Rastadt
• Curatore/i
  Vidic, F., Stasi, A.
• Titolo del volume in cui è pubblicata
  I Cobenzl. Una famiglia europea tra politica, arte e diplomazia (1508-1823)
• Istituzione coinvolta nella pubblicazione
  Archivio di Stato di Gorizia
• Casa editrice
  Lithos
• Luogo pubblicazione
  Roma
• Da pagina
  999
• A pagina
  1039
• Abstract
  In 1796, the ruin of the Italian states exposed Austria to a mortal and unknown danger: France arrived at the gates of the Monarchy thanks to the successes of Bonaparte. In his advance, the young general violated the neutrality of the Republic of Venice, causing its political collapse. Then he crossed the Alps and camped in Leoben. In this context of desperation, Minister Thugut called “the best diplomat of the empire” to negotiate peace with Napoleon. Travelling in forced stages, the ambassador took his instructions in Vienna – which left him great freedom. Arriving in Friuli, Cobenzl faced a very tough confrontation with the Frenchman, who was gambling on his political future. Remembered for having put an end to the Serenissima, the treaty of Campoformio was actually perceived by its authors as a provisional solution to give respite to a Europe weakened after years of war. The article analyzes the Udine conference as an exemplary case of negotiation, identifying its main elements – overture (need to negotiate), agenda, procedure, formula, momentum. Cobenzl masterfully managed the situation by adapting the diplomacy of balance, in which he had grown up, to the “diplomacy of convenience” necessary to create spaces for compromise. However, he did not have the same success in Rastadt, when the contradictions of French politics (the Directory vs Bonaparte) exploded, dragging the continent into new instability.
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