After defeating Napoleon following long-lasting and bloody wars, European monarchs gathered in Vienna to discuss the conditions for restoration of monarchy in France and setting the new balance of power. Political implications of the Congress of Vienna are plenty and important, but here we focus mainly on the effects of the Congress on the diplomatic institutions.

Firstly, the Congress set the idea of “balance of power” as a steady diplomatic priority for European monarchs (Kissinger, 1994: 325). European monarchs aimed at constructing a diplomatic context in which all actors react similarly and in a coordinated manner in case of an attempt by any other power to dominate European neighbors. In this sense, the Congress determined the content of the new diplomatic context in Europe, and this content put balance of power before any other agenda items. This can be considered as a collective security umbrella for the European states system. Hence, it is fair to argue that the Congress of Vienna introduced collective security conceptions into the agenda of diplomacy, which continued to be one of the most important agenda items in European diplomacy in the following centuries as well. Secondly, the Congress of Vienna enclaved diplomacy into a conservative sphere. In fact, the Concert of Europe that came out of the Congress was quite a conservative order in the sense that it relied on the absolute preservation of monarchies all around Europe. European diplomacy and permanent diplomatic missions agreed on that European states should be ruled with monarchies and legitimacy of these political systems does not need a popular vote. In this regard, European diplomatic machinery aimed at preservation of this system and act collaboratively against any challenge to monarchies.