D I P L O M AT I C A| NEW WORLD ORDER
21st-Century world order restored?
Fen Hampson
B
etween November 1814 and June 1815, Europe’s leaders sat down at a diplomatic conference in Vienna to establish the foundations of a new political order, following the disruptions of the French Revolution and the massive carnage of the Napoleonic Wars. The new spirit of the international co-operation that was born out of the Congress of Vienna came to be known as the Concert of 16
Europe. It was called a concert because those who participated spent their evenings attending musical events. It was not so much a gathering of friends as a team of rivals who understood if they didn’t co-operate, the world could disintegrate into anarchy. Importantly, it reflected a non-institutionalized approach to conflict management and maintenance of global order by the great powers of the day — a bit like a pickup musical group. Co-operation was driven by self-interest and a value system that was anti-revolutionary and anti-nationalistic. The Congress was nonetheless a watershed moment in world history that maintained the European balance of power until the outbreak of the First World War, as explained by former U.S. secretary of state Henry Kissinger in his great tome, A World Restored: Metter-
nich, Castlereagh and the Problems of Peace, 1812-22. There is an active debate today about the future of world order and whether we are at a similar turning point in history. It has become quite fashionable in some circles to talk about a new alliance of democracies that can work to rebuild the liberal international order of the latter half of the 20th Century and, at the same time, promote democratic institutions and values. Others argue that we are witnessing a return to great power politics with the rise of China with its muscle-flexing under President Xi Jinping and resurgent Russia under President Vladimir Putin. In this scenario, great power competition is increasingly likely, and alliances will matter more than ever to counter those states that aspire to global supremacy. So, what SUMMER 2021 | JUL-AUG-SEPT
©KARWAI TANG/G7 CORNWALL 2021
In its original Atlantic Council-CIGI formulation, the D-10 was aimed to unify Western democracies in dealing with Russia. Then-U.S. president Barack Obama and allies such as Angela Merkel, shown here at the recent G7, worked on Russian incursions in Ukraine and its meddling with other neighbours.
