Concert Of Europe

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HOW EFFECTIVE WAS THE CONCERT OF EUROPE IN MEETING THE NEEDS OF ITS MEMBERS? Looking back into past history, it reveals to us that states men were more successful in some periods than during others in controlling unavoidable tensions between their countries. Constraints operated that swayed states to shun adventurous and aggressive foreign policies. This pattern was seen especially during the period of 1815 to 1845 where European interstate relations were good. No conflicts were witnessed between the great powers, and security and stability characterized the international system. Cooperation and self restraint was exercised and several diplomatic crises which would have easily turned catastrophic were averted. Most observers continue to attribute the peace and stability experienced during this time to the European balance of power among other things. The international system within which Europeans governments formulated and conducted policy is often overlooked but was important in the peace that was prevailing after 1815. This was the Concert of Europe. Although being given less credit than deserves, this essay will discuss the effectiveness the Concert of Europe had in meeting the needs of its members. The Concert of Europe was the balance of power that prevailed in Europe from the fall of Napoleon Bonaparte to the genesis of World War 1. Also known as the congress system, after the congress of Vienna, the concert of Europe’s founding powers were Austria, Prussia, the Russian empire and the United Kingdom. These were also the members of the alliance that toppled the first French empire. In time though, France also became a member of the concert. Due to the influence of the Austrian chancellor prince Metternich the Concert of Europe drew upon their ideas and the notion of a balance of power in international relations. The concert rarely received credit for the
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