ABSTRACT
This chapter traces the link between deficiencies of the 19th century political dynamics and the Concert of Europe and argues that a) the negative characteristics of the period were linked, that b) this link is relevant for lessons which can be drawn from an analysis of 19th century International Relations. The chapter suggests that rather than diffusing risks over time, the imperial policies of the individual members of the European Concert allowed tensions to build up that led to the war in 1914. To overcome such dangers, a 21st Century Concert faces difficult, yet not impossible, challenges.
