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balance of power definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: an equilibrium of power between nations

Merriam Webster's

Date: 1701 an equilibrium of power sufficient to discourage or prevent one nation or party from imposing its will on or interfering with the interests of another

Britannica Concise

In international relations, an equilibrium of power sufficient to discourage or prevent one nation or party from imposing its will on or interfering with the interests of another. The term came into use at the end of the Napoleonic Wars to denote the power relationships in the European state system. Until World War I, Britain played the role of balancer in a number of shifting alliances. After World War II, a Northern Hemisphere balance of power pitted the U.S. and its allies (see NATO) against the Soviet Union and its satellites (see Warsaw Pact) in a bipolar balance of power backed by the threat of nuclear war. China's defection from the Soviet camp to a nonaligned but covertly anti-Soviet stance produced a third node of power. With the Soviet Union's collapse (1991), the U.S. and its NATO allies were recognized universally as the world's paramount military power.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Balance Bal"ance, n. [OE. balaunce, F. balance, fr. L. bilan?, bilancis, having two scales; bis twice (akin to E. two) + lanx plate, scale.] 1. An apparatus for weighing. Note: In its simplest form, a balance consists of a beam or lever supported exactly in the middle, having two scales or basins of equal weight suspended from its extremities. Another form is that of the Roman balance, our steelyard, consisting of a lever or beam, suspended near one of its extremities, on the longer arm of which a counterpoise slides. The name is also given to other forms of apparatus for weighing bodies, as to the combinations of levers making up platform scales; and even to devices for weighing by the elasticity of a spring. 2. Act of weighing mentally; comparison; estimate. A fair balance of the advantages on either side. --Atterbury. 3. Equipoise between the weights in opposite scales. 4. The state of being in equipoise; equilibrium; even adjustment; steadiness. And hung a bottle on each side To make his balance true. --Cowper. The order and balance of the country were destroyed. --Buckle. English workmen completely lose their balance. --J. S. Mill. 5. An equality between the sums total of the two sides of an account; as, to bring one's accounts to a balance; -- also, the excess on either side; as, the balance of an account. `` A balance at the banker's. '' --Thackeray. I still think the balance of probabilities leans towards the account given in the text. --J. Peile. 6. (Horol.) A balance wheel, as of a watch, or clock. See Balance wheel (in the Vocabulary). 7. (Astron.) (a) The constellation Libra. (b) The seventh sign in the Zodiac, called Libra, which the sun enters at the equinox in September. 8. A movement in dancing. See Balance, v. i., S. Balance electrometer, a kind of balance, with a poised beam, which indicates, by weights suspended from one arm, the mutual attraction of oppositely electrified surfaces. --Knight. Balance fish. (Zo["o]l) See Hammerhead. Balance knife, a carving or table knife the handle of which overbalances the blade, and so keeps it from contact with the table. Balance of power. (Politics), such an adjustment of power among sovereign states that no one state is in a position to interfere with the independence of the others; international equilibrium; also, the ability ( of a state or a third party within a state) to control the relations between sovereign states or between dominant parties in a state. Balance sheet (Bookkeeping), a paper showing the balances of the open accounts of a business, the debit and credit balances footing up equally, if the system of accounts be complete and the balances correctly taken. Balance thermometer, a thermometer mounted as a balance so that the movement of the mercurial column changes the indication of the tube. With the aid of electrical or mechanical devices adapted to it, it is used for the automatic regulation of the temperature of rooms warmed artificially, and as a fire alarm. Balance of torsion. See Torsion Balance. Balance of trade (Pol. Econ.), an equilibrium between the money values of the exports and imports of a country; or more commonly, the amount required on one side or the other to make such an equilibrium. Balance valve, a valve whose surfaces are so arranged that the fluid pressure tending to seat, and that tending to unseat the valve, are nearly in equilibrium; esp., a puppet valve which is made to operate easily by the admission of steam to both sides. See Puppet valve. Hydrostatic balance. See under Hydrostatic. To lay in balance, to put up as a pledge or security. [Obs.] --Chaucer. To strike a balance, to find out the difference between the debit and credit sides of an account.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

The balance of power is the way in which power is distributed between rival groups or countries. ...changes in the balance of power between the United States and Europe. N-SING

Moby Thesaurus

Eisenhower Doctrine, Monroe Doctrine, Nixon Doctrine, Truman Doctrine, appeasement, ascendance, ascendancy, brinkmanship, coexistence, colonialism, compromise, containment, detente, deterrence, diplomacy, diplomatic, diplomatics, dollar diplomacy, dollar imperialism, dominance, dominancy, domination, dominion, eminent domain, expansionism, foreign affairs, foreign policy, good-neighbor policy, imperialism, internationalism, isolationism, manifest destiny, militarism, nationalism, neocolonialism, neutralism, nonresistance, open door, open-door policy, overlordship, peace offensive, peaceful coexistence, predominance, predominancy, predomination, preeminence, preparedness, preponderance, prepotence, prepotency, primacy, principality, shirt-sleeve diplomacy, shuttle diplomacy, sovereignty, spheres of influence, superiority, supremacy, suzerainship, suzerainty, the big stick, tough policy, upper hand, whip hand, world politics