Steff, ReubenHeron, Quinn2026-03-252026-03-252025https://hdl.handle.net/10289/18150The Concert of Europe (the Concert), that lasted from 1814 to 1914, was a system of international relations that was, in many respects, illiberal. Much of the scholarship of the Concert has accepted that realist concerns, such as the balance of power, played a dominant role in shaping the Concert. It might seem strange then to ask what role liberal ideas and principles played in a system so widely regarded as realist. Yet, that is the goal of this thesis; to ask the question ‘to what extent did liberalism influence the Concert of Europe?’ Traversing the fields of History and International Relations, this thesis utilizes both disciplines, combined with qualitative analysis, to identify liberalism within Concert rhetoric and the Concert’s actors while challenging the prominence of realist explanations. The Concert displayed prominent liberal characteristics in both the rhetoric used during several crises and the actions and beliefs of the actors within it. This thesis concludes that liberal ideas and principles influenced the Concert to a significant, and often overlooked extent, and draws lessons from its operation for understanding the emerging 21st century multipolar system.enAll items in Research Commons are provided for private study and research purposes and are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated.International RelationsConcert of EuropeLiberalismRealismBalance of PowerEuropeThesis