National interest versus common interest. The Netherlands and the liberalization of Rhine navigation at the Congress of Vienna, 1814-1815

This chapter demonstrates that the new European order during and after the Congress of Vienna in 1814–1815 was not just determined by the Great Powers. A small nation such as the Netherlands played a significant part in drafting and implementing at least two key results in terms of institutionalized international cooperation that flowed from the Congress: the declaration of the principle of freedom of navigation on international rivers and the constitution of the Central Commission for Navigation of the Rhine (CCNR). The flow of the Dutch decision-making processes on a new transnational Rhine regime highlights how, at crucial junctions, the Dutch position was influenced by the need for a balance between shared European economic interests and Dutch national interests. Moreover, this contribution shows that the way these interests were interpreted hinged not just on Dutch officials, but also on non-state actors.