The "peaceful" import of the Concert of Europe

The concert relied more or less on the subjugation of colonies or empire. The military impulse was extended abroad against those who were incapable of defense because they were in western terms less developed. So the competition and rivalries of the “great powers” were sublimated for extended periods in a concert of exploitation of overseas conquests. The great powers who found themselves at a disadvantage were destabilizing and at the turn of the century began attacking each other on their frontiers. Japan and Russia attacked each other in Asia. Germany at a disadvantage abroad in comparison to the French and English empires simply decided to attack its neighbors.

So imperialism laid the groundwork for the two world wars. Interestingly, Hannah Arendt posits Lawrence of Arabia as the prototypical superman model for Nazi Germany. There are today similar social archetypes or paradigms in the west such as 007, or the special forces warrior who follows in the footsteps of Lawrence in Syria or Afghanistan. The imperial god character appears in Graham Greene’s classic, the Quiet American and later in the movie Apocalypse now.

Japan modeled it’s early twentieth century imperialism on the British model in Egypt. It’s gunboat diplomacy in Asia was clearly based on US and English models. Eventually, these models of behavior resulted in direct military confrontations. The US and England made turn of the century agreements with Japan which postponed their clash until Pearl Harbor but victimized the rest of Asia. Today the CIA and SOC operate as a modern day East India Corporation carrying on a secret war which never really ended after WWII. The patterns are essentially the same. Putin dreams of something better but the old paradigm that war is the guarantor of the health of ruling elites just won’t go away without a fight. Unfortunately, the western elites have consistently designated Russia, China and lesser states as the enemy to sustain society organized on the principle of war.