Concert of Nations

Concept Foreign Policy Preferred

System of great-power consultation after 1815 to manage European peace and uphold the settlement of the Congress of Vienna.

Independent referenceNot an official or legal definition
Sources citedSee the sources at the end of this page
Status Under reviewLast updated 11 October 2026
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Definition

In plain language

After the Napoleonic wars, the main European powers agreed to meet and consult regularly to keep the peace and settle disputes together. This arrangement is known as the Concert of Europe.

Academic definition

The Concert emerged from the Congress of Vienna (1814-15) and the Quadruple Alliance of November 1815 among Austria, Britain, Prussia and Russia, joined by France at the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1818. It operated through periodic congresses, such as Troppau (1820), Laibach (1821) and Verona (1822), and later conferences, and it institutionalised great-power management of the system. Scholars like Schroeder argue that it created new norms of restraint, while critics point out that its conservatism suppressed liberal and national movements and that it declined after the Crimean War (1853-56).

Classification

Term type
Concept
Category
Foreign Policy
Subject field
International Relations History
Subfield
Nineteenth-Century European Diplomacy
Difficulty level
Intermediate
Grammatical category
noun phrase

Language variants

Alternative terms
  • Concert of Europe
  • European Concert
Non-preferred terms
  • not_applicable
Abbreviations
  • not_applicable
Acronyms
  • not_applicable
Native terms
  • not_applicable
Transliteration
not_applicable
Pronunciation
not_applicable

Context

Legal effect: Political

Scope

Covers the European great-power system of 1815 to the mid-nineteenth century and the idea of concerted great-power management; it is a historical case, not a standing organisation or legal regime.

Legal context

not_applicable

Diplomatic context

The Concert is cited as a model of great-power cooperation and compared with the UN Security Council's permanent members.

Institutional context

It had no secretariat or charter and worked through ambassadors' conferences and congresses of the great powers.

Historical context

It began after the defeat of Napoleon, was reinforced by the Quadruple Alliance of 1815 and gradually broke down after the Crimean War and later power shifts.

Why it matters

The Concert shows how great powers can reduce conflict through consultation, and its limits show the risks of legitimising the status quo.

Usage

Register: Historical

Usage note

'Concert of Europe' is the standard historical name; 'Concert of Nations' is used more generally for great-power cooperation.

Example

Historians often cite the Concert of Nations as an early example of great-power management of peace.

Example scenario

A crisis in a small European State threatens to draw in the powers. Their ambassadors meet in conference, agree on a joint approach and avoid unilateral intervention, as the Concert system was intended to achieve.

Common misuse

Describing the Concert as a formal international organisation or as identical to the Holy Alliance of 1815, which was a separate arrangement.

Not to be confused with

  • League of Nations
  • Holy Alliance
  • Balance of power
  • UN Security Council

Sources

  1. The Transformation of European Politics, 1763-1848 (Schroeder), Oxford University Press, not_found_in_source. not_found_in_source
  2. Official definition. not_found_in_source
  3. Treaty reference. not_found_in_source
  4. Kissinger, A World Restored. not_found_in_source
  5. Jervis, From Balance to Concert: A Study of International Security Cooperation. not_found_in_source

Source type: Academic. Source reliability: Academic.

This entry is an independent reference definition, not an official or legally binding text. Where an official definition exists, it is linked above and is authoritative. Read our methodology.

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