To what extent was the Liberal Empire an original aim of Louis Napoleon Bonaparte (Napoleon III) rather than an expedient?

In order to assess how far Napoleon III's liberalising of the Second Empire was an original aim or expedient, one has to establish a number of things, first an 'expedient' in this sense means that Napoleon III was pushed into liberalising the Empire by his circumstances rather than planning to liberalise the Empire from the beginning i.e. an 'original aim'. Secondly, there is much debate about Napoleon III and how his actions should be …

…s Napoleon III was becoming a liberal emperor. Napoleon III Napoleon represented a compromise; his regime was neither a republic, nor a monarchy, nor a dictatorship. The Liberal Empire was an Empire for the 19th century. His belief that he would give the people most of what they wanted most of the time meant that he was bound to end up being a liberal ruler, whether he had planned it or not. TOTAL WORD COUNT = 3,478