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The Mystery of Peace in the 19th Century: Why Did the European Concert Temporarily Calm the War?
The 19th century "Concert of Europe" was an international system established by several major powers to maintain the balance of power and political boundaries in Europe. This period marked a period of relative peace and stability since the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. Then, what kind of historical factors and political calculations are hidden behind this peace?
The beginnings of the Concert of Europe can be traced back to the Congress of Vienna in 1814-1815. This is a series of conferences convened by major powers to resolve potential conflicts and maintain international order. The conference successfully limited French influence to a certain extent and established four major powers: Austria, Prussia, Russia and Britain. The efforts of the five major powers allowed Europe to avoid a large-scale war for a period of time.
European Concert is an international cooperation in the name of peace, reflecting the desire of European countries for stability and cooperation.
This period of peace did not last entirely smoothly. Historians disagree on the reasons for the ongoing conflict: some argue that cracks in the old system of cooperation began to appear in the 1820s, especially during the Italian liberal and nationalist movements, when differences of opinion between countries became Be obvious. However, other scholars believe that this system continued until the outbreak of World War I.
Some believe that the geopolitical stability created by the Concert of Europe contributed to the expansion of colonialism in the 19th century.
The success of the European Concert is not always due to the perfection of its system, but to the phased cooperation of the participating countries. In particular, the former Holy Alliance of conservative forces (Russia, Austria, and Prussia) strengthened their cooperation in order to cope with the revolutions and national movements of the time. Liberals, on the other hand, engage in a more flexible way, sometimes able to strike a delicate balance between conservatism and change.
The revolution that broke out in 1848, although it failed to fundamentally change the map of Europe, did mark, in some ways, the end of the first phase of the Concert of Europe. These revolutions failed to change the territorial boundaries of the major states, but they significantly weakened the control of the Concert of Europe and increased nationalist and international tensions.
Nationalism, as a radical force, ultimately posed a threat to the stability of the Concert of Europe.
With the unification of Germany and Italy, this cooperation naturally came to an end. On the one hand, the struggles of the German and Italian people posed a challenge to these old systems, which intensified the imbalance between the powers and led to the formation of the final war mechanism.
In the late 19th century, Otto von Bisameck worked hard to revive the Concert of Europe, attempting to provide continued support for Germany's position through diplomatic means. This period also marked further attempts at diplomatic cooperation, a picture that maintained a brief peace despite many internal and external challenges.
To many leaders at the time, future war was inevitable.
However, when the flames of World War I were ignited, the end of "European Concert" seemed inevitable. The war marked the complete collapse of the traditional power structure and thrust the world into a new era of uncertainty.
To what extent did The European Concert influence the subsequent development of international relations?
