Sentence:  Political interference in <WSD>Africa</WSD> and Asia and even in Latin America ( though limited in Latin America by the special interest of the United States as expressed in the Monroe Doctrine , itself from the outset related to European politics and long dependent upon the `` balance of power '' system in Europe ) was necessary in order to preserve both common economic values and the European `` balance '' itself . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  the second largest continent; located to the south of Europe and bordered to the west by the South Atlantic and to the east by the Indian Ocean