The Concert of Europe

CHAPTER 4: THE CONCERT OF EUROPE

 From 1815 ( congress of vienna) till 1914 (ww1)Es una causa del WW1

The victors of the Napoleonic wars assembled at Vienna in 1814- Congress of Vienna. 5:

        •        Austria: Metternich

        •        Prussia: Prince von Hardenberg

        •        France: Louis XVIII

        •        Russia: Tsar Alexander

        •        GB: Castleragh

Aims of the congress:

        •        establish a balance of power in Europe.

        •        Preserve the territorial status quo of Europe

        •        Protect legitimate governments(absolutism)

The congress was intended to establish a new international order which was based on the balance of power; this happened because Continental powers were knit together by a sense of shared values. As a consequence, after the Congress of Vienna, Europe experienced the longest period of peace it had ever known. No war at all took place among Great Powers for 40 years, and after the Crimean war (1854), no general war for another 60.

        •        Austria: it had abandoned its attempt to dominate all of Germany but it still saw itself as first among equals (it was strengthened in Italy)

        •        Prussia: it challenged Austria´s claim to leadership in Germany. In a century it went from being a secondary power in Germany, to being among the most formidable military powers (it was strengthened in Germany.

        •        France was destroyed; it had to give up all conquests and return to the ancient frontiers.

        •        GB: he had a different perspective about the world order with respect to the Continental countries.

The relationship between Austria and Prussia and their relationship to other German states were central to European stability. Indeed, whenever Germany was wak and divided, it tempted its neighbours into expansionism. Ans when Germany was united it terrified surrounding states. Thus, the statesmen at Vienna set about consolidating Germany, but not unifying. This way, the 300 odd pre-Napoleonic states were combined into some 30 and bound together in a new entity called the German Confederation.

In relation to France, they wanted to punish it but in a soft way so it wouldn't lead France to revenge (como con Germany despues del WW2). Therefore, France was deprived of its conquests, but granted its ancient frontiers, and in 1818 it was admitted to the Congress system.

After the Congress of Vienna, the relationship between the balance of power and shared sense of legitimacy were expressed in 2 documents:

        •        The Quadruple Alliance (GB, Prussia, Austria and Russia)- made to stop France from future uses of force.

        •        The Holy Alliance (Easter Courts: Prussia, Austria and Russia)- it interpreted the religious imperative as an obligation to preserve the domestic status quo in Europe. For the first time in modern history, the European Powers had given themselves a common mission. It brought the conservative monarchs together in combatting revolution but it obliged them to act only in concert.

The Concert of Europe implied that nations which were competitive on one level would settle matters affecting overall stability by consensus. All the monarchs came together and refrained from pushing their advantages because of the principle of maintaining the status quo.

*Matternich, in the post-Vienna period, played the decisive role in managing the international system and in interpreting the requirements of the Holy Alliance; he achieved to maintain Austria's alliance with Prussia and Russia (they could defeat Austria). He believed that a strong Central Europe was the prerequisite to European stability. Moderation and conservative unity. Thanks to him, Austria controlled the peace of events, by turning Russia into a partner based on unity of conservative interests and GB into a last resort for resisting challenges to the balance of power. The Matternich system:

        •        European balance of power

        •        internal German equilibrium between Prussia and Austria

        •        system of alliances based on the unity of conservative values

However, as I said GB had a different perspective about balance of power in relation to the rest, so the more the alliances approached a system of collective security and European government ( it comes close to the unified Europe that GB had opposed), the more GB felt compelled to dissociate. To solve the issues confronting Europe, the Congress system was created. However, GB´s role in the Concert of Europe was destined to be transitory and ineffective.In fact, in 1818 when France was admitted to the congress GB exited from it; so the attempt by Austria to create a general system of collective security failed.