A World Restored

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A World Restored: Metternich, Castlereagh and the Problems of Peace 1812-1822 is a book by Henry Kissinger.

"A World Restored, Metternich, Castlereagh and the conservative politics in a revolutionary world" is probably the most important seminal work on European diplomacy. Born as famous former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger´s doctorate dissertation at Harvard University in 1954, the book, has enjoyed of great repercussion, with the hand of its authors career in public service.

A World Restored explains the complex chain of Congresses that started before the end of the Napoleonic wars in 1814 with the Congress of Vienna, and extended into the 1820s, as a system expected to give Europe a new order and Peace after the catastrophic struggles of the past quarter century.

At the same time, the book introduces the reader in the political biographies of two important characters of the time. The first and main character is Prince Metternich, the Austrian Empire's Chancellor at that time. As the statesman of an old decaying multilingual empire, Metternich deals with the task of organizing the alliance against Napoleon, while at the same time being a forced ally of France. After Napoleon is defeated, he is the organizer of the Congress system, through which he will seek the survival and position of Austria.

An 18th century styled rococo figure, old fashioned for those times, but described as having superlative diplomatic skills, Prince Clemens von Metternich, pursuits a peace for Europe, which is based on restored monarchical principles, and on the solidarity among the kings of Europe. the French Revolution of 1789 and the subsequent Napoleonic invasion and rule of half Europe, had implanted new liberal revolutionary ideas that were never to be extricated from Europe. At the same time, the rising notion of national feeling, was spreading all over the world. The Austrian Empire was a complex political entity, with many nations, ethnic groups and languages, coexisting within it, and this forces were playing against the survival of the Empire. Metternich expected to lead an alliance against France, pressing only enough to eliminate Napoleon from theatre, while preserving a french territory in the form of a restored monarchy. Peace with Napoleon seemed impossible, since he had shown complete unwillingness to accept a moderate solution. A total destruction of France had to be avoided since that would leave the Russian monster without restraints to come over Europe. Moderation would be since then Metternich´s guiding principle in the path to European order. From 1812 on, Meternich would carry Austria from the forced French alliance, into neutrality, and finally as the head of the anti-french alliance which defeated France in 1814. In the process, Metternich avoids betraying any of his treaties with his counterparts, since only established legality among states would permit decaying Austria to survive. Metternich is very skillful in this and putting himself as the interlocutor of Europe, he gains the confidence of all rulers. At the many European congresses that followed, Metternich guides the concert of Europe as the virtual Prime Minister of the continent. Solidarity among kings would restrain the dangerous liberal revolutions and diverse national upheavals around Europe.

The other great character is British minister of the Foreign Office at the time, Viscount Castlereagh. Being the only British politician to understand Meternich´s ambitions and reasoning, and the need for an organized European order, he was strongly criticized in Britain, for getting too involved in continental politics in the name of the British interest. After the Congress of Vienna, he was forbidden to attend any more European congresses. Castlereagh would commit suicide. Since then on, Britain would start its long period of splendid isolation, based on its supposed insular invulnerability and on the believe that Peace was a simple consequence of Napoleon´s defeat. For the central empire the reality was different. Any Napoleon could emerge at any time, and a strong European concert of conservative and solidary monarchs based on principle, was necessary to prevent dangers before they arouse.

Although the Congress system worked only for a few years, the concept and principles on which it was based, gave place to the longest period of peace among states in history, with only few and light interruptions. Ironically, it was suh a long peace, that the faith in it and the forgotten consequences of war, ended in an arms race followed by a new and much larger catastrophe in 1914.

Kissinger´s work is a fine and sutile art piece on the history of diplomacy. At the same time it is a great approach to the task of the statesman, putting much light on universalized prejudice against the idea about an independent morale of the statesman, different from that of man, understood by many as an implicit permit for evil. In Metternich´s view, as interpreted by Kissinger, there were Statesmen and Prophets. Prophets (modernly called Ayatollahs or Hawks), pursuit an absolute truth, no matter what happens in the rally. Statesmen, on the contrary, understand the interest of the state, but know that only a common morale and a set of principles for the international relations can bring the hope of peace.