CONGRESS OF VIENNA
Agenda 1:
Estabilishment of stability in Europe in the immediate aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars by restoring a balance of power.
Agenda 2:
Creation of new political and legal order for the continent.
Freeze Date: 1st May, 1814
ABOUT COMMITTEE
The Congress of Vienna meets in the immediate aftermath of Napoleon’s defeat, at a moment when Europe, though victorious, is still bleeding from the fury of the Napoleonic Wars. For over a decade, battlefields have been drenched in blood, kingdoms shattered, borders erased, and millions displaced as Napoleon’s armies tore across the continent like a storm. Though a colossal coalition of powers, led by Britain, Russia, Austria, and Prussia, finally brought his seemingly unstoppable advance to a halt and formal peace was declared through the First Peace of Paris, this peace is fragile and deceptive. Napoleon is being sent into exile on Elba, yet the vacuum he leaves behind is far deadlier than any army he or his marshals ever commanded. With monarchies shaken or dethroned and entire states re-emerging as prizes to be bargained over, Europe now stands amid the ruins of a fallen empire, desperate to be reorganised before chaos consumes it once again. For the purposes of this committee, the timeline diverges slightly after late April 1814, allowing the Congress to convene earlier so that the reordering of Europe proceeds without delay.
Europe in April 1814 is not at rest; it is hurtling toward another crisis. Borders lie uncertain, alliances strain under competing ambitions, and every delegate arrives not merely to preserve peace, but to secure advantage. This is not a forum where power is won by speeches alone. Authority here is seized through foresight, manipulation, and the ruthless ability to outmanoeuvre rivals. Behind every courteous bow lies a concealed dagger, beneath every diplomatic gesture brews a struggle for dominance, and restoration of calm remains secondary to survival and supremacy. The Congress will be volatile and unpredictable, driven by secret negotiations, shifting alliances, and calculated betrayals that constantly reshape the balance of power. As Europe teeters between order and catastrophe, the question before the
Congress is unforgiving: will it forge a lasting peace for a fractured continent, or merely draw the first lines of the next great European catastrophe?
CHAIRPERSONS' ADDRESS
“My enemies are many, but my equals are none.”~ Napoleon Bonaparte
Greetings Delegates,
This declaration, born from Napoleon’s certainty of dominance, captures the spirit of European 1814. Though the Emperor has fallen, his words still echo across a continent filled with rivals who see one another not as equals, but as obstacles to be overcome. The Congress of Vienna meets at a moment when no single power stands supreme, yet every power believes itself destined to be. Here, peace is not granted; it is negotiated, contested, and imposed. As delegates, you are expected to look far, far beyond formal diplomacy and understand the deeper currents shaping Europe, i.e. fear, exhaustion, rivalry, and the relentless desire for dominance. This committee will demand foresight, adaptability, and the willingness to act decisively when the balance of power shifts without warning.
Debate in this committee will be fast-paced and unpredictable. Alliances will form out ofnecessity and dissolve just as quickly, crises will test your preparedness, and every decisionwill carry long-term consequences. Expect sudden shifts in power, fragile alliances collapsingwithout warning, and crises that punish hesitation. Strategy will matter more than speeches, foresight more than volume, and survival more than sentiment. Behind every polite negotiation lies calculation, and beneath every promise lurks betrayal. The Congress ofVienna is a battlefield disguised as diplomacy, and only those who understand this reality willleave their mark on history.
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Krish Kataruka, the perfect Napoleon, will be the chairperson to look out for. One second, hecould be joking around with the delegates, and the next, displaying his immense knowledgeof cabinets and specialised committees, showing why he is a chairperson. Undoubtedly one of the finest when it comes to drafting communiqués, his confidence while speaking is such that he can make anyone believe exactly what he wants them to. With a love for the acronymK^2, you best believe this chairperson has watched shows ranging from Brooklyn Nine-Nine& The Big Bang Theory to The Lincoln Lawyer and Suits, but to date, has failed to watch Harry Potter or Stranger Things. Jokes aside, your fate in committee rests on your creativity, strategy, and confidence. All in all, Krish will be the chairperson who may, in one moment, tolerate excess horsing around in his committee, and in the next, abruptly stop tolerating it altogether. With an astute knowledge of his committee, rest assured, he will be more well read for the committee than all the delegates combined. As for how to get on his good side? Well, there’s nothing you can do.
Viraj Saraogi may be your chairperson, but outside committee he is an easy-going person who pretends to have an ego, though everyone knows he is just a teddy bear at heart. With his favourite show being Suits and his music taste often described as that of a “13-year-old girl who just got Spotify for the first time,” he will most definitely be both your strict and your chill chairperson—depending, of course, on his mood. In an MUN committee he will display a blend of all things that make up a good MUNner. Be warned, when you send him paperwork, he will judge each and every word of your paperwork based on whether or not it is logically possible, factually accurate or AI-generated(He loves borrowing other chairpersons’ Quillbot Premium). A devout worshipper of the Holy Can of Red Bull, he can be found consuming it whether he is conducting your committee, solving advanced integration problems in his free time, or hating on Humanities students.
Together, your chairs mirror the Congress of Vienna itself, unpredictable and sharp, challenging delegates just as Europe’s great powers are tested in the aftermath of war. Historyoften remembers wars by their victories, but far less attention is given to the moments thatfollow, when the cannons fall silent and the real struggle begins. The Congress of Viennaexists in that dangerous pause between conflict and order, where ambition has not died withthe battlefield, and power has merely changed its disguise.
Until May,
Krish Kataruka and Viraj Saraogi,
Chairpersons,
The Congress of Vienna,
La Martiniere Calcutta Model United Nations, 2026.