"TO PRESERVE THAT BALANCE OF POWER ON WHICH THE HAPPINESS AND PROSPERITY OF EUROPE DEPEND" -- DISCOURSE ON THE FIRST PARTITION OF POLAND AND THE EUROPEAN BALANCE OF POWER IN LONDON NEWSPAPERS (1771-1774).

Like most English press reports on the first partition of Poland, the author of an opinion piece from 1773, published in the Public Advertiser under the pseudonym "Tullius", believed that of the three powers dividing Poland, the Prussian interest could be the most dangerous both for the national interest of Britain and for the future of the European balance of power. It is significant that in almost all cases where the interests of Britain and the question of intervention were invoked in English opinion pieces, the defence of the continent's political balance appeared as a strong argument. Through a critical discourse analysis of relevant opinion pieces published in London newspapers between 1771 and 1774, I point out how the authors used similar or different balance-of-power rhetoric, while occasionally deeper, polemical balance-of-power discourse to reflect their views. I illustrate that the authors of these articles have applied the concept essentially in relation to the following three themes: (1) the "diabolical alliance" of the partitioning powers, (2) the issue of British intervention, and (3) the criticism of the idle British government. One of the main conclusions of my analysis is that the balance-of-power discourse is most prominent in relation to the third issue, sometimes even leading to a general questioning of the legitimacy of the contemporary balance-of-power policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]