The Concert of Europe and international security governance: how did it operate, what did it accomplish, what were its shortcomings, what can we learn ?

This article presents a historical analysis of the working procedures, accomplishments and shortcomings of the 19th century European Concert of Great Powers and discusses the Concert’s behavioral and structural norms, functions, instruments and legitimization. It shows how the European great powers came to regard themselves as managers of peace and what led to the Concert’s decline. Regarding the future, Schulz suggests that a 21st Century Concert of Powers may contribute to peace provided that it represents all major cultures, that it commits not only to procedural rules but also to a hierarchy of norms, and that leaders managing it allow for effective control by the international community.