Two large groups of military powers to maintain a balance of power

The European balance of power is a concept that applies primarily to European international relations prior to the First World War and which evolved into the present states of Europe. The current form of this concept relies on a supranational organization known as the European Union rather than the Nineteenth Century political concept that emerged at the Peace of Paris in 1815. It is often known by the term European State System.[1] Its basic tenet is that no single European power should be allowed to achieve hegemony over a substantial part of the continent and that this is best curtailed by having a small number of ever-changing alliances contend for power.