Introduction

This chapter explains the motivation behind the academic volume, elaborates on the risks and dangers underlying current great power relations and lays out the plan of the book. It begins by identifying war among great powers as the most serious conceivable danger of the 21st century. It further highlights structural developments, such as power shifts, that magnify this danger. To soothe these dangers, the authors suggest a look at the history books. They review the literature on the European Concert and conclude that borrowing the strongest aspects of this Concert, while correcting its weak points, might be a promising solution.