ABSTRACT
Friedrich von Gentz, antirevolutionary publicist, took pride in the realism of his political appraisals. The political system existing in Europe since 1814 and 1815 is a phenomenon without precedent in the world’s history. The most important concern a statesman can have is the probable duration of the European league, which for the moment has filled the chasm of political dissension but cannot fill it forever, or even for very long. The Ottoman Porte would undoubtedly have the power to make war against Russia, unimpeded by vague ties with the European federation. The governments of some of the smaller states in the South, seeking popularity with their subjects and political independence from their greater neighbors, did provide constitutions and elected assemblies. Clemens von Metternich’s anxiety at what might develop from this trend led to his meeting with the Prussian king and government at Teplitz in the summer of 1819, soon after the Kotzebue murder.
