These events point to the third flaw in Kissinger’s argument, namely that the Congress of Vienna did not in fact establish a new ‘legitimacy’ at all. The plenipotentiaries of the great powers had indeed tried ‘something new and different’. But it was not something that could be dignified with such a word. They had merely decided to reorganise and run Europe by accord between themselves, without reference to the minor powers, let alone public opinion. Perhaps the most significant document in this respect is the Troppau protocol.
