Balance of Power.

Balance of Power. An expression used for that state of things in which no one of the European states is permitted to have such a preponderance as to endanger the independence of the others. This idea is not confined to modern times. The Greeks acted upon it more or less distinctly with regard to the relations of such states as Sparta, Athens, and Thebes. It was, however, more distinctly avowed as a motive of political conduct, and more systematically acted upon, after the time of Charles V. For nearly a century and a half the house of Hapsburg, of which Charles was the first great chief, seemed to strive at universal empire. The Thirty Years' War was waged not only to save Protestantism, and to prevent Austria from becoming master in Germany, but to hinder the predominance in Europe of a single crown. The motive of preserving the balance of power came most distinctly into the foreground in those unions which England, Holland, and Austria repeatedly formed against the menacing schemes of Louis XIV. for acquiring supreme power in Europe. It was the same cause that broke up the most dangerous (for Louis) of these coalitions; for in the war of the Spanish Succession, when the Hapsburg pretender to the Spanish throne became, by the death of Joseph I., sovereign of Austria and emperor of Germany, and the power which, in the hands of Charles V., had menaced the equilibrium of Europe, was thus likely to be again wielded by one man, England withdrew from the coalition, and thus saved Louis from a decided overthrow. The aggressive policy of Napoleon called all the nations of Europe to arms against him in the name of the balance of power; and in readjusting the map of Europe, the balance of power was often invoked to cover the jealousy which resisted not a few claims to restitution of territory. For some time the balance of power in Europe was embodied in a pentarchy or virtual leadership of the five great powers, who mutually watched one another's movements. The formation of the kingdom of Italy has increased the number of great powers to six. The rise of Germany since the war of 1870-71 has given it a leading place in maintaining the European balance. The great development of Russia, and the continuity of her aggressive policy in the East, form a most important element in the European equilibrium. Since the doctrine of non-intervention has to a large extent gained ground, the idea of a balance of power has been less esteemed in Great Britain. There can be no doubt that the idea has prevailed chiefly since the rise of the great centralising states under absolute dynasties at the close of the feudal period, and that the true welfare of peoples has been again and again sacrificed to the balance of power and to dynastic interests therewith connected. Yet so far as the maintenance of the balance of power has tended to protect the independence of European states against great aggressors, and to prevent the predominance of a single despotic empire, it has been beneficial. Further, it may be pointed out that so long as Britain is an imperial state, she cannot altogether abstain from intervention in European politics, and from considering how the balance of power there affects her interests. On the whole, though the idea of a balance of power in its old form has fallen into disrepute, it may still be considered a working factor in politics. And the subject is greatly widened and complicated by the extension of European influence and European possessions all over the world. Interesting points in this connection are the rivalry of Russia and Britain in the East, the difficulties chiefly with France as to the regulation of Egypt and the Suez Canal, the rise of the colonial power of Germany, and the entry of China and Japan into the circle of European policy. See Dilke's European Politics (1887).