ABSTRACT
Having defeated Napoleon, in 1814 the European great powers came together with the goal of maintaining their newfound peace. To that end, the former rivals decided to try something novel: they would work together to address common threats, especially by holding public, face-to-face meetings. By all accounts their experiment – the Concert of Europe – was successful. The nineteenth century saw a long peace among the powers, at least until the Crimean War in 1854 and arguably until World War I (WWI). Before the Concert, in the eighteenth century, the European balance of power functioned like an invisible hand, with the great powers acting in their individual short-term self-interests. Continental stability emerged as an unintended consequence. Beginning in 1815, however, the “hand” governing their relations became newly visible. While great power leaders may have been no less self-interested, they pursued their interests in an explicit, public context – the forum – that was linked to their commitment to govern together. This linking of publicity and talk to their common purpose was crucial to the Concert’s success.
