The Concert Of Europe As An Example Of Concert Diplomacy In The 19th Century

 Although the main aim of the balance of power is to establish a peaceful international area, it caused serious international disputes and conflicts. In Europe during the time of Napoleon, statesmen wanted to try a new solution for the warlike and tough system of the century. Because of that in the first place, there was no certain definition of "concert diplomacy". General principles of this concert diplomacy became a customary system through applications. In this process "the concert diplomacy" which it will be called, "a revolution in diplomatic history" emerged (Elrod, 1976, pp.161-162). Meerts defined "concert diplomacy" as a negotiation which diplomatic, harmonized, and international. But the most important point in this definition is that negotiations include concessions and compensation exchanges (Meerts, 2015, p.11). Concert Diplomacy, when applied in international relations can be seen as the management of diplomatic crises between major actors (Jung, 2016).

When we look at the developments of concert diplomacy, three turning points appear. Changing balances with The Peace of Westphalia took steps of concert diplomacy and peaceful area. It was signed in 1648 and thus all countries were equally accepted. This conference has been seen as a mother of new concert diplomacy because it established more impact solutions to disputes (Holsti et al., 1991). After that, in 1713 the Peace of Utrecht provide an example of concert diplomacy in history. In this peace negotiation process still offered bilateral agreements but what matters here is the call for general participation in the negotiations. A century after Ulrich Peace, the most effective use of concert diplomacy, "The Concert of Europe" entered diplomacy history with the 1814 Vienna Congress (Meerts, 2019, p.109)

Initially, concert diplomacy was seen as a new method of conference diplomacy. This may mean that the great powers act together to ensure international order. But "The Concert of Europe" which most powerful example in concert diplomacy, is more than a new diplomacy method (Elrod, 1976, p.163). For example, to one of the definitions, the Concert of Europe was an institution related to international security  (Haftendorn et al., 1999). According to many historians, the 19th century was more peaceful and stable than the 18th-century war full and chaotic area. The reason for this the Concert of Europe guaranteed existence, security, status, and vital interests for great powers, starting from the Vienna Congress (Schroeder, 1986).

The Concert of Europe, also known as the Congress System or the Vienna System provided stable international relations between the great powers. This system was a concert diplomacy system that dominated all 19th century. The main principles of the Concert of Europe were, first to establish a balance of power and governed Europe with this balance and secondly created peaceful solutions to possible war or conflict situations between great powers. The main members of the Concert of Europe were great powers of the period that defeated Napoleon's Empire. It was founded by Great Britain, Austria, Prussia, Russia, and then France was included (Wright, 2018, pp.1-2).

 But in the first stage, there were some conflicts about power and hegemony between these members. For example, Russia emphasized collective security among the international system and also wanted the some part of Poland's land. On the other hand, Austria was against Russia's request of Poland. And the other members Great Britain, Austria, and France were insisted for establish a balance in Continental Europe (Schroeder, 1989).

Although there were conflicts between them, the five great powers came together and tried to govern the international system effectively. The main threats, which united great powers were "war and nationalism". A potential war has been seen as a cause of a revolution. On the other hand, nationalism was threatening some powers like Russia, Austria, or Ottoman Empire which was multinational (Wright, 2018, p.4)

As part of the Concert of Europe, many congresses and conferences were held and peace negotiations were produced. For example in 1818, with the participation of parties such as Great Britain, France, Prussia, Russia, Austria , Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle produced. As a result of this congress, France accepts to pay war reparations. As a result of the Verona conference in 1822, Spanish interventions through Great Britain were brought under control. London Conferences were held in 1840-1841. Great Britain, France, Prussia, Russia, Austria, Ottoman attended these conferences. The parties signed the Second London Straits Convention. Thus, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles were closed to all warships. In 1869, Paris Conference, Cretan Revolt reached the solution. Cretan's request for assistance was rejected during the negotiations, which Turkey, Prussia, Russia, Austria, and the United States participated in (Lascurettes, 2017, pp.23-25).

The question of when the Concert of Europe ended, has caused differences of opinion among historians. For example, Soutou argues that the Concert of Europe was still effective during the Balkan wars that continued between 1912 and 1913. After Sarajevo, however, he says that this system collapsed in 1914 and he examines the reasons for this situation. He saw as one of the reasons for this collapse that Bismarck have sided against France in peacetime, contradicting the goals of the Concert of Europe. But one of the more acceptable reasons was the political and cultural change of European countries in the late 19th century (Soutou, 2000, pp.333-334).

 Although there are opinions that agree with the Concert of Europe ended when World War 1 began such as René Albrecht-Carrié and Matthias Schulz, there were also some historians who argued that this system ended in the 1820s, shortly after its emergence. Some historians like Henry Kissinger and Dan Lindley stated that this system worked for a very short period of time. They cite the liberal revolutions of the 1820s as the reason for this. They also say whether no great powers leaders didn't come face to face with each other after 1822, that is, at some point, The Concert of Europe was over (Lascurettes, 2017, pp.11-12). In contrast, Elrod thought that all these liberal revolutions were at most a crack within The Concert of Europe. He says that in the 1820s, all great powers accepted the success of this system, even if they thought differently in ideology (Elrod, 1976). Among the historians who examine when this system ended such as Norman Rich and Orlando Figes, there are also those who mention the dates of 1848 and 1853 directly. According to them, the liberal revolutions that took place in 1848 seriously damaged the system. And after that, in the 1853 Crimean War, this damaged system received the fatal wound (Lascurettes, 2017, p.12)

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Elrod, R. B. (1976). The Concert of Europe: A Fresh Look at an International System. World Politics, 28(2), 159-174. https://doi.org/10.2307/2009888

Holsti, K. J., Holsti, K. J., & Holsti, K. J. (1991). Peace and war: Armed conflicts and international order, 1648-1989. Cambridge University Press.

Jung, K. (2016). Contemporary Concert Diplomacy: A New Mechanism for Great Power Crisis Management in the Post-Cold War World. Tectum Verlag.

Lascurettes, K. (2017). The Concert of Europe and Great Power Governance Today: What Can the Order of 19th-Century Europe Teach Policymakers About International Order in the 21st Century.

Meerts, P. (2015). Diplomatic negotiation: Essence and evolution. PIN• Points, 34.

Meerts, P. W. (2019). Concert Diplomacy: Past, Present, Prospects. Global Policy, 10, 108-112.

Schroeder, P. W. (1989). The nineteenth-century system: balance of power or political equilibrium? Review of International Studies, 15(2), 135-153.

Soutou, G.-H. (2000). Was there a European order in the twentieth century? From the Concert of Europe to the end of the Cold War. Contemporary European History, 329-353. 

Wright, O. (2018). Concert of Europe. The Encyclopedia of Diplomacy, 1-5.