一种“相互抗衡的权
力”（counter-vailing power）之缺乏。

Countervailing Power, or countervailence, is the idea in political theory of institutionalized mechanisms that the wielding of power within a polity having two or more centers can, and often does, provide counter-forces that usefully oppose each other. This political organization stands in contrast to polities such as principalities where "various princes were absolute rulers in their domain" or in modern examples of totalitarian governments.

抗衡权力（亦作制衡权）是政治学中的理论概念：在拥有两个及以上权力核心的政体之中，制度化的权力运行机制会天然产生相互对冲的力量，以此形成有效制衡。这种政体架构，与诸侯割据式政体以及现代极权政体形成鲜明对比——前者之中，各方领主都能在自己的辖地内实行绝对统治。