What are the weaknesses of the European Concert System - Essay Example

of the of the The Weaknesses of the European Concert System The concept of a Concert of Europe was formed in order to resolve disputes among its members and to bring in a mechanism of international relations, however due to the wide disparities, selfishness between the members and a dearth of proper diplomacy it proved to be a fiasco. The Concert of Europe was the culmination of the “Treaty of Chaumont, the two Treaties of Paris, the Holy Alliance and the Quadruple Alliance”, which transpired in a period of one year from 1814 to 1815. Its initial purpose was to establish peace with a highly belligerent France and to enforce a system of international relations between the major European countries. Another important objective was to prevent revolutions in the member countries by armed intervention by all the other members. However, Britain abstained from such efforts when the Spanish Revolution commenced. In this manner the downfall of the European Concert was set in motion. The selfishness and predatory character of the major powers, especially Britain and Germany rung the death knell of the concert (Johnson 47-48). Further Europe’s great powers signed a treaty to increase mutual cooperation and to prevent the recurrence of hegemony. This was known as the Congress of Vienna and was chaired by the Austrian statesman Klemens Wenzel von Metternich. Its purpose was to redraw the political map of Europe, which was in disarray due to the Napoleonic wars. France was excluded from this exercise as its boundaries had already been decided by the Treaty of Paris, signed on May 30, 1814 (Congress of Vienna). The specific aim of this Concert was to prevent the outbreak of revolution in their countries. This was due to the fact that the French Revolution of 1789 had spread terror amongst the leading powers of Europe. To this end Austria, Prussia, Russia, Great Britain and France convened at the Congress of Vienna. The Great Powers met periodically and made efforts to ensure peace in Europe. A beneficial result was the formation of a framework of international diplomacy and negotiation. An example of this endeavour is the 1827 intervention by these Great Powers leading to the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the Battle of Navarino. The main weakness of the European Concert was that it consisted of countries with different ideologies and this resulted in lack of consensus. The European countries, with the exception of Britain, were interested in maintaining the political status quo in western and central Europe in order to suppress revolutionary outbreaks. However, Britain abstained from opposing any such threats to Spanish and Portuguese rule in Latin America. “Britain similarly stood aside from the Continental monarchies authorization of Austrian military intervention in the 1821 Italian Carbonari insurrections and French intervention in Spain in 1823”. Another major drawback of the Concert of Europe was that it did not have written rules or permanent institutions. Any member facing a crisis could propose a conference to resolve the crisis. Perhaps its last practical session was the London Conference of 1912 to 1913 convened to discuss the Balkan Wars. In this conference Austria-Hungary and Germany refused to participate and therefore it had to be abandoned. This clearly demonstrates that these members were not accepting the terms of the European concert. The European Concerts main achievements comprised of establishing independence in Greece and Belgium. Moreover, in 1840 these countries with the exception of France defended the Ottoman Empire and thereby brought to an end Egypts eight-year occupation of Syria. Unfortunately, the Concert suffered major setbacks due to the European revolutions of 1848 followed by debilitating wars between the member countries. This resulted in the total loss of authority of the Concert of Europe (Concert of Europe). Six European countries namely Britain, France, Russia, Austria, Hungary, Italy and Germany dominated the European Concert. Despite being dissimilar in their political influence and military might, all of them were more powerful than their neighbouring countries. Most of these countries had a violent birth and were the least hesitant in resorting to violence. This predisposition towards the adoption of violence proved to be the down fall of the European Concert. The proper function of the European Concert was dependant upon the agreement of its constituent powers. The situation had deteriorated to such an extent that the European Concert had no real importance attached to it. Moreover, in Europe there were no common political institutions and in respect of international law only a primitive framework existed. However, the march of civilization engendered a humane approach which exhorted these powers to resort to arbitration in order to settle their disputes. The Hague Peace Conference of 1899 instituted an international court of arbitration. All the same, the European countries were reluctant to approach to it unless it was to their advantage. The result was that International organizations were singularly unsuccessful in their attempt to restrain these powers (Stevenson). The 1919 Paris Peace Conference clearly established the fact that enforcement of international agreements is almost impossible. The Treaty of Versailles consisted of several unpalatable compromises among the powers; moreover it caused unprovoked aggravation to the Germans. At this point of time the Nazi party came into power in Germany and from 1935, its leader, Hitler violated the Locarno Treaty of 1925, by deploying troops into the demilitarized Rhineland (MacMillan). The Vienna Congress of 1815 depicted the emergent equilibrium in the aftermath of the defeat of Napoleon. It also served to indicate the agreement between the Great Powers that they would not engage in conflicts amongst themselves at any cost. These nations were Britain, Russia, Austria, Prussia and France and came to be collectively known as the Concert of Europe, its leaders met periodically in order to preserve the monarchy, discourage revolution and maintain continental peace. This concert lasted for about forty years and established a strategic and moral equilibrium, despite the selfish insistence of the British on being allowed considerable freedom of action in dealing with political and constitutional reform movements especially when such action was beneficial to them. Moreover, the Concert of Europe was doomed to failure as its chief architect, Metternich, was opposed to change and because the victorious continental powers, namely, Russia, Prussia, and Austria aimed to establish “static principles on a dynamic world now infected by the double virus of liberalism and nationalism” (Chace and Rizopoulos). Subsequent to the defeat of Napoleon, equilibrium amongst European countries was ensured by the Concert of Europe. At that point of time its composition was such that it was composed of former enemies as well as friends. Over a period of time the Concert disintegrated because the “newly democratic nations refused to cooperate with older monarchies”. This disintegration of the European Concert was one of the causes for World War I. The Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations were the consequences of the First World War. However, the treaty terms were unduly harsh in respect of a defeated Germany leading to unrest in that country. The problem was compounded by the weak implementation of the treaty and the resultant aggression could not be suppressed due to the lack of consensus amongst the member countries. The failure of these institutions was a major cause for the Second World War (Joseph Nye). The main reasons for conflicts among the member countries were the disparities in military power, territorial interests and ideologies. Moreover, the gravity of the situation in respect of civil unrest varied from nation to nation. Further, some countries like Britain and Germany wanted to dominate over the other countries. This led to dissatisfaction among the weaker members of the concert, which lead to the disintegration of the Concert of Europe. Works Cited Chace, James and Rizopoulos, Nicholas X. 1999. http://www.worldpolicy.org/journal/chace_rizo.html Concert of Europe. November 05, 2006. http://experts.about.com/e/c/co/concert_of_europe.htm#hd1 Congress of Vienna. November 05, 2006. http://experts.about.com/e/c/co/congress_of_vienna.htm Johnson, Sterling Ph. D. Peace Without Justice. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. 1 September 2003. Joseph Nye. International Conflicts After the Cold War. November 05, 2006. http://www.crinfo.org/articlesummary/10425/ MacMillan, Margaret O. 2004. Lessons of History: the Paris Peace Conference of 1919. November 05, 2006. http://www.international.gc.ca/department /skelton/paris_peace_conference_1919-en.asp. Stevenson, David L. 2005. The History Of The First World War. November 05, 2006. http://www.penguin.co.uk/nf/Book/BookDisplay /0,,9780140268171,00.html?sym=EXC. Read More