The Concert of Europe

The concert of Europe could be said to have had a substantial level of accountability in the preservation of peace because it brought about a common satisfaction of the status quo. The concert was forged under the thought that none of the great powers was interested in changing the international order to best suit their need. This is because, no power could be so “dissatisfied that it questioned the legitimacy of the entire order.” (83 p.145 Kupchan.) Some may argue that the concert was not created to maintain peace, because their intervention in states such as Spain was done to drive their own self interest. However, we can argue that the concert was accountable for keeping peace because it reduced the possibility of inter-state war for territorial increment. In addition, the sheer strength of the concert of Europe acted as a sort of intimidating force, therefore further reducing the outbreaks of war and revolutions.

In addition, the concert of Europe has been portrayed to have had some responsibility in the maintenance of peace, due to the prerequisites of collective security that were present. In order for any collective security organization to function effectively, the collective security organization must have a sufficient diffusion of power, a minimum of political solidarity and moral community, and there also has to be an agreement regarding the prevailing geo-strategic situation amongst the great powers. For instance, at the meeting of Verona in 1822, France was granted permission by the concert to intervene on behalf of the Spanish royalists and restore Ferdinand VII of Spain. Some may argue that the concert of Europe was not responsible for the safeguarding of peace because the concert, “could not resolve all the pro...

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...ce, it provided a more robust deterrence and eliminated the possibility of war. Some may argue that the concert did not maintain peace because of the divergent views and differences the concert members had. This is a frail argument because divergence in views is something that is bound to occur over any type of state relations. One may argue however, that the concert as an organization brought about a sort of legitimization of the use of coercion that was coupled up with sheer military and economic strengths, thus acting as a deterrent. Therefore due to these attributes it can be seen that the concert of Europe had a strong influence over the maintenance of peace. Similarly to the United Nations, the concert also helped facilitate for the identification of aggressors therefore further accentuating the fact that the concert had a strong hand in maintaining peace.