Castlereagh Vs Wilson

The Concert of Europe was an international order created by a series of alliances that allowed Europe to experience the longest period of peace and stability ever known to the continent. The system aimed to preserve the status quo politically and territorially, and it relied very little on power to sustain itself. Rather, it worked by careful design influenced by the Pitt Plan and the errors of Richelieu’s work of the 1600s. Periodically, the involved nations would convene to discuss and agree on issues that could lead to the outbreak of a war. In this way, the system was able to maintain European peace by consensus. Perhaps the most important reason that the Concert of Europe worked was the sense of shared values that united the countries - a moral equilibrium allowed for power and justice to be in “substantial harmony”. In particular, Prussia, Russia, and Austria, the three Eastern powers, considered their unity as the “barrier to revolutionary chaos”. The system only disintegrated when the moral aspect was removed from European diplomacy - this substantiates a claim that the system’s success can be attributed to the moral equilibrium.

The styles, goals, and ideals of Metternich and Castlereagh bear many similarities to those of President Woodrow Wilson. Metternich, who
Both leaders believed that the active participation of the international community could protect the international order. In this way, both Castlereagh and Wilson were certain that future aggressions would be avoided if their countries participated in a forum that addressed issues before they manifested into militaristic conflicts. Castlereagh thus attempted to persuade Britain into participating in such a forum, similar to Wilson and the future League of Nations. By having a role in such decisions, Wilson and Castlereagh realized that they could best defend their interests. Both leaders recognized the importance of collective