Reminds Me Of The Congress of Vienna 1815

The Board of Peace and a Regional Reset;

Dr. Bruce Smith ——Bio and Archives--March 7, 2026

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In my undergraduate days and for a few years afterward I was a big fan of Henry Kissinger. It was the time of shuttle diplomacy in the Middle East in which Kissinger acted as the globetrotting negotiator for President Nixon’s strategic visions. To learn more, I did some research. Kissinger completed his doctoral work at Harvard in 1954 with a dissertation on the primary figures at the Congress of Vienna in 1815. Kissinger’s dissertation was published in 1957 under the title A World Restored: Metternich, Castlereagh, and the Problems of Peace 1812-1822.

The Redrawing of the map of Europe after the Napoleonic Wars

His study focused on the diplomatic efforts of Castlereagh, the foreign secretary of Great Britain and Metternich, the foreign minister of Austria. These two, along with Talleyrand of France and Karl, Prince von Hardenberg of Prussia, redrew the map of Europe after the tumultuous career of Napoleon Bonaparte ended at Waterloo, in Belgium, in 1815. So in the aftermath of the rubble and political turmoil of the French Revolution and Napoleon’s First Empire it was Castlereagh and Metternich who emerged as the great power brokers of the post-Napoleonic era that lay ahead. They put together a system that kept the peace in Europe, for the most part, for nearly a hundred years.

In the rubble and political turmoil left over from the Second World War a new system emerged based on the realities and hopes of the postwar world. With Germany and Japan defeated, the United States and her allies on one side faced the Soviet Union and its satellite states on the other in a Cold War that lasted from 1945 to 1991, with the UN in the middle. The collapse of the Soviet Union would have been a good time to do a world reset, but, alas, there was no one to step up to the plate to be the cleanup batter. The world stumbled along much as it had since 1945. Russia re-emerged as a kind of jerry-built Soviet Union when Putin, the former KGB agent, took over and assumed office for life. The post-World War II system with its repairs and patches and useless UN continued.

There was an opportunity for a major reshuffle when President Trump took office in 2017, but it didn’t get very far. Deep state operatives and plenty of detractors sucked up about all of the oxygen available in the first term. There was nothing but distractions and rear-guard fights for the entire term. Of course, nothing but further decline could be expected so long as President Biden was in place. Had the election of 2024 gone differently we would still be in the state of malaise that had been building since 1993.

Board of Peace and Gaza rebuild 

January of 2025, however, saw the swearing in of a transformed and resilient President Trump for a second term. There have been signs indicating that we might be moving into a new era. The initial actions targeted the deep state funding of the country’s managed decline through foundations and NGOs with the DOGE exposures and cuts. Legislation brought much needed changes in the tax structure and in spending priorities. A flurry of executive orders gradually helped to change the direction of the ship of state. The President seemed to be busy on every stage at once, but with renewed focus and intensity.

Before a full year’s calendar pages could be turned under the second Trump administration, major progress had been made in the Middle East. More than two years after the Gaza massacres of October 2023 there was finally progress at extracting the remaining hostages and clearing the remaining fighters there. This progress had been accomplished without material help from the UN or from various NGOs which were supposed to provide humanitarian aid. Much of that aid had been looted by Palestinian groups which kept it for the support of the fighters.

It was about this time that we began to hear talk of a “Board of Peace.” President Trump used the term to refer to convening a group of interested and sympathetic parties to oversee the transformation and rebuilding of Gaza. Considering that Gaza had been a hotbed of hatred and discontent directed at Israel and everyone else for decades, the idea had lots of appeal.

So naturally, when talk of a Board of Peace began to circulate in the aftermath of the Gaza massacre of Israelis, Arabs, and others at the music festival in 2023, I began to think of similar historical circumstances. In the aftermath of a brutal conflict, forward-looking individuals come together to rebuild and seek a better future for those who have been involved.

Peace comes from victory, not from prolonged conflict and indecision

There have been several moments in time like this, but they were not guaranteed success. It occurred to me that Kissinger’s book on the Congress of Vienna offered a similar model. Strong-willed individuals decided that action should be taken to prevent problems and conflicts of the past. Backed by the military, economic, and diplomatic power of major nations, these individuals came together and forged a new path into the future.

The plan so far is to provide a stable, peaceful government willing to accept and live amicably among its neighbors, to rebuild a destroyed Gaza, and bring peace and prosperity to a part of the world that has seen little of it since 1948. It appears this will be done with little regard to the dysfunctional UN but with eyes wide open to the realities of the region. The members of the board will meet and decide among themselves how to move forward. They will also own success or failure. In a region of the world plagued by nearly incessant wars in recent times, success will be a tall order. As I write this another conflict in the region has begun, this time with an Iran that has been the source of never-ending conflict and sorrows since the overthrow of the Shah in 1979 and the taking of the US Embassy hostages. Those in charge seem to be clear-eyed about what must be done. The aim is to finally stop another war, one that began in 1979. We wish them all success.

So the creation of a Board of Peace reminds me of 1815 and the Congress of Vienna. Those who gathered in 1815 understood that peace comes from victory, not from prolonged conflict and indecision. Then as now the victory has been costly. We shall see if they can match or best the record of Castlereagh, Metternich, and others who sought to build a more peaceful world for others to enjoy. Only time will tell, but it appears we are off to a good start.

Dr. Bruce Smith (Inkwell, Hearth and Plow) is a retired professor of history and a lifelong observer of politics and world events. He holds degrees from Indiana University and the University of Notre Dame. In addition to writing, he works as a caretaker and handyman. His non-fiction book The War Comes to Plum Street, about daily life in the 1930s and during World War II,  may be ordered from Indiana University Press.

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