The notion of a European security culture is introduced here to analyse the political constellation emerging after the Congress of Vienna. As an alternative to the focus on international diplomacy and high politics defined by interests of state, the notion of security culture serves to identify the institutional structures within which interests are defined; the culturally conditioned perceptions of threats and security; and the identity of the agents trained to monitor and interpret threats and interests, and to mediate challenges and opportunities of international (dis)order. From this perspective, the chapters in this volume are introduced as contributions to the historicisation of the security culture emerging in Europe from the early nineteenth century onwards.