Key Features of the Concert of Europe (Essay Sample)

The Concert of Europe.
Acording to Spruyt (2009), the concert of Europe also known as the Vienna Settlement/ Convention, was held in 1815 by various states like Austria, The Russian Empire (Under the Tsarist Regime), The United Kingdom and Prussia (Currently German). The concert of Europe was not a formal institution like the NATO and League of Nations rather it was a formal understanding among the countries in Europe bounded by various treaties on fundamental issues of war, peace and security in Europe after the crisis caused during the Napoleonic wars.
Key Features of the Concert of Europe
The concert of Europe or rather the Vienna Convection had distinctive features that up to date have drastic effects on the international systems. The first feature is the emergence of Balance of Power (B.O.P) in the international system. This came about due to the existence of a multi-polar system. Austria, Prussia, Russia and United Kingdom, all were considered as hegemon and smaller states were treated in a cavalier fashion by these great powers weather their monarchs were considered legitimate or not, therefore Balance of Power was viewed at that time as a system that would deter future wars in the international system until the first world war in 1918 (Colin Gray, 2005).
The second feature of the concert of Europe was the shift of military strategy and the art of war towards a peaceful international system. Europeans subscribed to the ideology of economic growth, peace and if there was to be war it ought to be less deadly and less destructive. (Colin Gray, 2005).
The Aims of the Concert of Europe
Spruyt (2009), argued the concert of Europe aimed on first to develop a balance of power in Europe. This was done by strengthening one nation that would act as a balancer to prevent the powerful states from infringing the sovereignty of the small states in Europe such as Belgium, Holland and Denmark at that time.
Another goal of the concert was to control France, as at that time France was seen an aggressor state and blamed for starting the war in Europe. Therefore the concert wanted to control France so that France could not have ‘another Napoleon’. They did this by establishing settlements in France and weakening the military size of France (Spruyt, 2009).
Strengths of the Concert of Europe.
The concert was successful in creating a successful Balance of Power system. Some countries such as Prussia were strengthened in order to act as a balancer to others. This ensured that small states would hold their sovereignty without them being interfered with the others. In this way the concert would be considered successful as there was no major war until the 19th century (Spruyt, 2009).
Failures of the Concert of Europe.
Critics have criticized the Concert of Europe as failing to stop another war in Europe. The concert assumed that they would deter war by preventing France to rise again to become an aggressor state in Europe. They did this by empowering Prussia. Later the strong Prussia (1848-1851) would start a war to unite all the German speaking people in Europe under one rule. These wars led to the unification of the modern Germany under one German rule and soon Germany would start demanding for France and Britain to surrender its foreign empires to Germany. This led to the tensions that ultimately led to world war one (Colin Gray, 2005).
Critics have also purported that the concert failed due to the principle of intervention of the internal affairs of states. Britain was against this principle but it had signed the treaty of Troppau. In 1822 Britain strongly opposed the actions of France to intervene in the internal affairs of Spain, although France was backed by Russia, Prussia and Austria. This led to the withdrawal of Britain from the congress in 1823 through a statement that Britain made "England is under no obligation to interfere or ...