Concert of Europe (Essay Sample)

Concert of Europe
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The concert of Europe was initiated in 1815 as a mechanism to put into effect the decisions of the Vienna congress. The concert comprised of the Quadruple alliance. This alliance consisted of the Great Britain, Russia Australia and Prussia. The main priorities of the concert were to establish a power balance of the legitimate governments. The concert was headed by Prince Metternich of Australia as it was one of the first attempts in the modern times to establish an international society that maintained peace. The concert was an essential event in the world history despite the fact that it lasted for a few years (Spruyt, 2009). This work will identify the goals, features, strengths, weaknesses and lessons that international relation thinkers have drawn from the Concert of Europe.
The Europe concert was successful in curbing uprisings for the legitimate government in both Italy and Spain between 1820 and 1822. The devastating powers between Italy and Spain proved to be positive as they enhanced the integrity of the concert. It proved to the world that it had the power to uphold any forthcoming challenges in its ruling that involved all its undertakings. With the strengths of the country, the Concept of Europe superiority was clearly and outwardly delineated. The first major barrier for the Europe concert was their decision to mediate in the Latin American revolt and the Britain’s refusal to do so (Paul, 2003). The Britain claimed that it would lose trade from Spain if the uprisings were ended and thus they are nationalistic to object them from cooperating.
During the Russo-Turkish wars between 1828 and 1831, Russia began to implement its military strength as one way of defending the Ottomans that were being attacked by the Egyptians. It is through the Europe concert in Ottoman Empire that Russia signed the Treaty of Unitard-Skelessi that gave it an advantageous access to the canal between Dardanelles and Bosporus. The straits convention in 1841 assisted the concert to permit Russia to solve the problem by being barred from expanding their territory (Spruyt, 2009). The resolution of the concert was that there should be no foreign flights that were to enter into the straits.
In 1840, the impact of nationalism began to affirm strong hold among most European countries. The concert was unable to stop the unification of Italy and Germany. These two countries indicated that the concert had brought a new spirit of real politics that was strong for nationalistic and encouraged to use force to accomplish its initial goals (Spruyt, 2009). In 1853, Russia denied support to the call for balance of powers, and it made an expansionary thrust in the Ottoman Empire. Later, Britain and France went into war with Russia with the hope of preserving the balance of power. Despite their efforts, they ended up sacrificing the peace they were fighting to have. The Crimean war that occurred in 1853 implied the downfall of the concert because the countries that were fighting against each other for their national interests.
The 1856 Paris accord got grounded on the great burden imposed to lifeless balance of power. It is because; Russia was not given the freedom to engage in battleships in the Straits. This policy left Russia and the southern border in need of defensive mechanism. Following this strategy, Russia was left at a disadvantage with other superpowers in the Europe concert and it was no longer stimulated to uphold its goals (Paul, 2003). The reason as to why communication between the powers had reached a complete stand-still at the end of the treaty negotiations. The goals of the Europe concert lay in shattered remnants as its function became obsolete.
The concert of Europe was established to prevent the spread of nationalism and liberalism also known as "The Holy Alliance." The concert managed to establish a true balance of power among the European nations, its actions assisted France from overpowering other countries and it succeeded in overseeing a prolonged period of peace. According to the concert of Europe, international relation theory is complex and aids in understanding how different sophisticated forces shaped th...