You should resist!
I've now played to 1867. 1848 was just another year. In fact, it's been a relatively calm game. The only notable conflict in Europe was Russia invading the Ottomans and taking the southern Caucuses, in return for which we declared war on Serbia to force them to pay their debts after they declared bankruptcy. Along with our swarm of German and Italian allies, we dealt a defeat to Russia/Serbia, gaining prestige and the repayment of debts, but also showing that our forces were not especially strong; the idea to continue advancing and to free Finland was deemed to pose unacceptable risk of leaving us vulnerable to Prussian interference. Thus, the policy since has been to build forts (especially along the Prussian and Russian frontiers), increase the size of the army, and improve our army's capabilities, while studiously avoiding conflict and continuing to invest in commerce and industry.
It has been successful. Austria's number of soldiers is now slightly larger than Prussia's, compared to four-fifths and three-fifths the size before and after the Serbian conflict. Prussia has focused on military technology and is slightly more advanced, but we're still above-average, especially in fortifications. And most importantly, Prussia has been caged in. Sweden annexed Denmark diplomatically, Saxony remains in the Austrian sphere of influence along with Bavaria, and while Prussia has immense levels of industry, Austria is still 7th to 9th in industry depending on the month, and competitive.
Diplomatically, my allies are Scandinavia, Spain, and the Ottomans. France has been locked in a war with America for several years, during which time the Union defeated the Confederacy. The crisis du jour is the usual one at this stage of the game, Greeks seeking independence from the Ottomans. We've consistently sided with the Ottomans, with Russia siding with Greece, and Britain and Belgium siding with the us. So far, this has always led to a peaceful resolution that disappoints the Greeks. But from an Austrian standpoint, now that we've put aside our old rivalry with the Ottomans, there's little to be gained from supporting nationalist ambitions, and the longer the eyes of the world are focused on Greece, the longer they aren't focused on Croatia or Romania.
About a tenth of the population is engaged in a Jacobin movement, but the government finds this acceptable, as the movement is especially popular in Croatia, and as long as the Croatians are focusing on republicanism, they aren't focused on nationalism. Socialism is the new popular movement, and to a lesser extent, anarchism. At this point only 26% of the Upper House consists of conservatives, with 43% liberal, 12% socialist, 7% anarchist, and 13% reactionary. But it's the aristocrats and capitalists who are most liberal, and among the population at large, the numbers better support the status quo.
The great powers:
1. United Kingdom (1st in prestige, 1st in industry, 2nd in military)
2. France (2nd, 2nd, 9th)
3. Prussia (6th, 3rd, 5th)
4. USA (3rd, 5th, 12th) (on the verge of bankruptcy due to the war with France)
5. Austria (4th, 8th, 7th)
6. Belgium (5th, 4th, 20th)
7. Scandinavia (8th, 7th, 13th)
8. Ottoman Empire (7th, 18th, 14th)
Secondary powers:
9. Russia (104th, 14th, 3rd) (has been swapping with the Ottomans every few years, such that none of them ever have a sphere)
10. Bavaria (13th, 6th, 16th) (this could be interesting, three great powers in Germany? they're only 3 points out of 8th so it's entirely possible)
11. Spain (10th, 11th, 10th)
12. Japan (37th, 12th, 8th)
13 - 16: Netherlands, Baden, Switzerland, Two Sicilies