This was the system created to deal with monetary policy in the Western world for the post-World War II era. In the summer of 1944, the United States and other Allied Powers met in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, at what came to be called the Bretton Woods Conference. There they agreed to a foreign exchange rate system and established an international bank (later called the World Bank) and the International Monetary Fund, all to lay the groundwork for reconstruction and trade after the war.

These are actions and policies instituted in a challenging international relationship that are designed to reduce tensions and instill greater confidence between would-be adversaries. They help lower the likelihood of incidents becoming military confrontations and spiraling out of control. Examples of CBMs are hotlines and countries notifying each other in advance of military exercises.

Like the Treaty of Westphalia, this was a gathering of European powers designed to establish relations between countries after an all-consuming period of war. In this case, it came after the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815; Napoleon returned one last time while the Congress was meeting and was defeated by a coalition of forces). The Congress met in Austria, hosted by the influential diplomat Klemens von Metternich.