THE EFFECTS OF THE VIENNA CONGRESS ON THE EUROPEAN SYSTEM AND THE NON-EUROPEAN WORLD

Abstract

In the 19th century, developments in Europe affected the structure and operating of the European system. In this context, the Congress of Vienna in 1815 emerged as one of the most important turning points in the system. It emerged as a result of the wars against the Napoleonic threat that threatened the European system. As a matter of fact, the fact that the European great powers, which had colonies in vast geographies outside Europe, faced such a geographically close threat was a serious obstacle for these states to project their power to the rest of the world. Therefore, alliances were first formed against this threat. After the elimination of the threat, a relative order was established. Conferences became important diplomatic tools to maintain this order. In addition, after the Congress of Vienna, structures such as the Holy Alliance, the Quadruple Alliance and the Quintuple Alliance were formed in order to maintain order. Thus, the Concert of Europe that would last until the First World War was achieved. On the other hand, this process, which affected the European countries with colonies and influence in the world, also had an impact on the lands outside Europe. In this context, this study discusses the process leading to the Congress of Vienna (the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars) and the effects of the Congress of Vienna on the European system. In order to look at the effects of these outcomes in the non-European world, the Ottoman and Chinese empires were analysed. The qualitative case study method was used in this study, focusing on studies in the scientific literature. In addition, process tracing method was used to make the analysis more comprehensible. The study has concluded that the Congress of Vienna led to changes in the structure and operating of the European system and that the relative order achieved increased the influence of European great powers in the non-European world.