Glossary

Definitions of terms used throughout CountryReports.

This glossary contains 1,144 terms used throughout CountryReports — political, economic, cultural, historical, and geographic terminology referenced in country profiles and articles. Terms are drawn from authoritative sources including the Library of Congress.

Ch'ngsan-ni Method, or Ch'ngsan-ri: A personalized, ""on-the -spot"" management method or spirit reputedly developed by Kim Il Sung in February 1960 during a visit to the Ch’ngsan-ni Cooperative Farm in South P’yngan Province. In addition to important material incentives, the method has three main components: party and government functionaries must eschew their bureaucratic tendency of only issuing orders and directives; they must mingle with farmers and uncover and solve their problems through comradely guidance; and they should give solid technological guidance to spur efficient and productive achievement.
Christian Base Communities (Comunidades Eclesiales de Base--CEBs): Groups consisting of mostly poor Christian lay people through which advocates of liberation theology (q.v.) mainly work. Members of CEBs meet in small groups to reflect on Scripture and discuss the Bible’s meaning in their lives. They are introduced to a radical interpretation of the Bible, one employing Marxist terminology to analyze and condemn the wide disparities between the wealthy elite and the impoverished masses in most underdeveloped countries. This reflection often leads members to organize and improve their living standards through cooperatives and civic- improvement projects.
collective farm (kolkhoz in Russian): Under the communist (q.v.) regime, an agricultural ""cooperative"" where peasants worked collectively on state-owned land under the direction of party-approved plans and leaders and were paid wages based partly on the success of their harvest.
Colombo Plan: Founded in 1951 and known as the Colombo Plan for Cooperative Economic Development in South and Southeast Asia until it was expanded in 1977 and called the Colombo Plan for Cooperative Economic Development in Asia and the Pacific. It is an arrangement that permits a developing member country to approach a developed member country for assistance on a one-to- one basis. Assistance may be technical or in the form of capital or commodity aid.
Colombo Plan for Cooperative, Economic, and Social Development in Asia and the Pacific (Colombo Plan): Founded in 1951, originally under a slightly different name, to coordinate and aid development among newly independent countries. Members include nations throughout the Asia-Pacific region (Nepal joined in 1952; Bhutan in 1962). Donor countries include Australia, Britain, Canada, India, Japan, New Zealand, and the United States. The organization’s headquarters are in Colombo, Sri Lanka.; Source: Library of Congress
Ecclesiastical Base Communities (Comunidades Eclesiais de Base--CEBs): Grassroots groups consisting of mostly poor Christian lay people through which advocates of liberation theology (q.v.) mainly work. Members of CEBs meet in small groups to reflect on scripture and discuss its meaning in their lives. They are introduced to a radical interpretation of the Bible, one employing Marxist terminology to analyze and condemn the wide disparities between the wealthy elite and the impoverished masses in most underdeveloped countries. This reflection often leads members to organize and improve their living standards through cooperatives and civic-improvement projects.; Source: Library of Congress
International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (Intelsat): Created in 1964 under a multilateral agreement, Intelsat is a nonprofit cooperative of 134 countries that jointly own and operate a global communications satellite system.; Source: Library of Congress
kebele: Popular term used to describe a cooperative urban neighborhood association. Kebeles were formed after the nationalization of all urban land and rentable dwellings in July 1975. These cooperatives became the counterpart of the peasant associations developed under the military government’s Land Reform Proclamation of March 1975. After their introduction, kebeles became the basic unit of urban government and served as instruments of sociopolitical control in urban areas.
kibbutz (pl., kibbutzim): An Israeli collective farm or settlement, cooperatively owned and operated by its members and organized on a communal basis.
Liberation Theology: An activist movement led by Roman Catholic clergy who trace their inspiration to Vatican Council II (1965), where some church procedures were liberalized, and the Second Latin American Bishops’ Conference in Medellín, Colombia (1968), which endorsed greater direct efforts to improve the lot of the poor. Advocates of liberation theology--sometimes referred to as ""liberationists""-- work mainly through Christian Base Communities (Comunidades Eclesiásticas de Base--CEBs). Members of CEBs meet in small groups to reflect on scripture and discuss its meaning in their lives. They are introduced to a radical interpretation of the Bible, one that employs Marxist terminology to analyze and condemn the wide disparities between the wealthy elite and the impoverished masses in most underdeveloped countries. This reflection often leads members to organize to improve their living standards through cooperatives and civic improvement projects.
moshav (pl., moshavim): A cooperative smallholders’ settlement of individual farms in Israel. Individuals own their farms and personal property. Work is organized collectively, equipment is used cooperatively, and produce is marketed jointly. There are several variants including the moshav ovdim, a workers’ cooperative settlement, and the moshav shitufi, a collective smallholders’ settlement that combines the economic features of a kibbutz (q.v.) with the social features of a moshav. Farming is done collectively, and profits are shared equally.; Source: Library of Congress
Partnership for Peace (PfP): An initiative by NATO (q.v.) for the former Warsaw Pact (q.v.) member countries and the former Soviet republics, including Russia, to expand political and military cooperation and promote democratic principles in those countries. PfP aims to facilitate transparency in defense planning and budgeting, ensure democratic control of defense forces, maintain readiness to contribute to United Nations and OSCE (q.v.) operations, and develop cooperative military relations with NATO for peacekeeping, search-and-rescue, and humanitarian operations. All former Soviet and Warsaw Pact states were members by 1996, and many had conducted joint military exercises with NATO forces.
reformed sector: Under an unprecedented strong agrarian reform law proposed by administration of Eduardo Frei Montalva (1964-70) in late 1965 and adopted in July 1967, reformed sector was to be made up initially of cooperatives for a transitional period of three to five years. Then cooperative members would decide whether to divide the land into individual plots.
special economic zones: Small coastal areas established beginning in 1979 to promote economic development and introduction of advanced technology through foreign investment. Special preferential terms and facilities are offered to outside investors in taxation, land-use fees, and entry and exit control for joint ventures, cooperative ventures, and enterprises with sole foreign investment. Special economic zones have greater decision-making power in economic activities than provincial-level units. Market regulation is primary.