How Did The Congress Improve The Balance Of Power

After the French revolution and Napoleonic wars, the conservatives were inclined to restore monarchies. By restoring old boundaries, the balance of power was ensured. This was so that no one country will become a hegemon like what France did before. They also did not want another revolution to occur. The Congress of Vienna was set up to discuss issues of restoring old boundaries and mediate issues that may potentially bring disharmony or even war. The spirit of nationalism was soaring in different parts of Europe and coupled with liberalism, these were forces that the Congress could not fight with. The Congress proved to be effective in the balance of power by restoring old boundaries and monarchies, but it was not successful in other issues such as the rise of nationalistic ideas and liberalism, which later caused more problems such as internal conflicts, uprising of the people and the toppling of the monarchy. I will be looking into the ineffectiveness of the Congress.

Firstly, some of the monarchies restored during the congress were weak and could not consolidate their power. The
Although the Congress only met up informally for discussions, it is probably due to this kind of setting that allowed conflicts to be resolved amicably. For example, Russia felt that the nation was owed all of Poland while Prussia had designs on Saxony. The Congress managed to reach a compromise whereby Russia had to share claim to Poland with Austria and Prussia. The role that Congress played in a bid to stop wars that could potentially occur due to territorial claims should not be ignored. This is evident in that the Congress had managed to bring about peace for almost 33 years. This was not possible previously. Hence, the Congress was effective in bringing stability to the whole of Europe before World War I