Was There a Reformed Balance of Power System or Cooperative Great Power Hegemony?
Author(s)
Gruner, Wolf D.
Abstract
In the article by Schroeder also included here, it is argued that a balance of power interpretation of the Congress of Vienna is misleading. This article challenges that vision, and argues on the lines of a more mainstream approach. In this article, the author argues for a characterization of the international system established in 1815 as a reformed, multi-polar balance of power system with built-in checks. The Vienna system was not designed as a hegemonic great power system, but as a carefully balanced multi-polar system composed of states different in size and power. The driving forces of this system, is argued, are far more complex than Schroeder thinks.
