Various properties of linear infinite-dimensional Hamiltonian systems are studied. The structural stability of the Vlasov-Poisson equation linearized around a homogeneous stable equilibrium [mathematical symbol] is investigated in a Banach space setting. It is found that when perturbations of [mathematical symbols] are allowed to live in the space [mathematical symbols], every equilibrium is structurally unstable. When perturbations are restricted to area preserving rearrangements of [mathematical symbol], structural stability exists if and only if there is negative signature in the continuous spectrum. This analogizes Krein's theorem for linear finite-dimensional Hamiltonian systems. The techniques used to prove this theorem are applied to other aspects of the linearized Vlasov-Poisson equation, in particular the energy of discrete modes which are embedded within the continuous spectrum. In the second part, an integral transformation that exactly diagonalizes the Caldeira-Leggett model is presented. The resulting form of the Hamiltonian, derived using canonical transformations, is shown to be identical to that of the linearized Vlasov-Poisson equation. The damping mechanism in the Caldeira-Leggett model is identified with the Landau damping of a plasma. The correspondence between the two systems suggests the presence of an echo effect in the Caldeira-Leggett model. Generalizations of the Caldeira-Leggett model with negative energy are studied and interpreted in the context of Krein's theorem. / text