Collective Security

11 Pages 2810 Words

he Concert of Europe does not comply with the theoretical basis of collective security, in practice it offers slight cohesion with some parts of it. Therefore, it will be shown that the Concert of Europe should be seen neither as collective security nor as balance of power, but as a different method of maintaining international peace and security.
In order to answer the question, the first step is to identify what is meant by collective security. As Inis Claude states;
[Collective security] purports to provide security for all states, by the actions of all states, against all states that might challenge the existing order by the arbitrary unleashing of their power.

It can be seen from this that the supporters of this system wished to dramatically change the nature of international relations, which had previously been dominated by the balance of power system. The main principles of collectively security have been identified as certainty, utility, and universality . The principle of certainty is that the overwhelming force of all other states, or at least those called upon, must meet any potential aggressor. This would be a factor of any organisation acting in the name of collectively security. Member states of this organisation, as condition of membership, are obligated to act against aggressors. Secondly, there is the principle of utility; that any act of aggression by one should be met by all other states using “as many of the tools of international politics as are available to them.” This suggests that not only would states use diplomatic efforts, but also economic sanctions and, should the need arise, military force, do deter any potential aggressor. The final principle, of universality, asserts that a collective security organisation would, by nature of wishing to counter aggression from within its ranks, seek to maximise its membership to ensure the continuation of the existing political structure of the world. Wit...