As the world transitions from the post-Cold War unipolar moment into an increasingly multipolar era, the question of how major powers can manage competition without conflict becomes urgent. With geopolitical tensions rising from Ukraine to the Indo-Pacific, many wonder if a historical model might offer insight. The 19th-century Concert of Europe, though deeply rooted in its own time, offers both a precedent and a warning for the challenge of great power cooperation today.

The Concert of Europe was formed in 1815 during the Vienna Congress, comprising Britain, Austria, Russia, Prussia, and later France, after the Napoleonic Wars. This loose coalition's purpose was to ensure balance of power and continental peace. It did almost achieve four decades of peace, however it was deeply flawed. The arrangement maintained imperial control and suppressed nationalism. It was functional mostly due to members not trusting each other and instead coming to understand the consequences of a........

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