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.

August coup d'état: On August 19, 1991, high-ranking officials of the CPSU (q.v.) and the government of the Soviet Union (q.v.) announced that they had formed the State Committee for the State of Emergency and had removed Mikhail S. Gorbachev as the head of state. Leaders of most of the Soviet republics and many foreign leaders denounced the coup. Some key military commanders refused to deploy their forces in support of the coup leaders, and by August 22 the coup had collapsed. As a consequence of the failed coup, the CPSU and the Soviet central government were severely discredited, Gorbachev resigned, ten of the fifteen Soviet republics declared or reaffirmed their independence (including Belarus and Moldova), and the Congress of People’s Deputies (q.v.) dissolved the Soviet Union and itself after transferring state power to a transitional government.; Source: Library of Congress
Baker debt-reduction plan: As part of the Enterprise for the Americas Initiative (q.v.), Nicholas F. Brady, the United States secretary of the treasury in the administration of President George H.W. Bush (1989-93), led a United States Government interagency process that determined country eligibility for debt reduction. The Brady Plan has been used to forge agreements between banks and the governments of several Latin American nations.
balance of payments: An annual statistical summary of the monetary value of all economic transactions between one country and the rest of the world, including goods, services, income on investments, and other financial matters, such as credits or loans.
balboa (B): Panama’s monetary unit, in practice consisting only of coins. Official value is B1 equals US$1. United States currency used for paper money.
Bank for International Standards (BIS): Established in 1930 to assist national central banks in managing and investing monetary reserves and to promote international cooperation among those banks.
Belarusian ruble: The monetary unit of Belarus, introduced in May 1992. In March 1995, the exchange rate was 11,669 Belarusian rubles per US$1. The Belarusian ruble is convertible, within limits.; Source: Library of Congress
Belizean dollar (Bz$): Belizean monetary unit, divided into 100 cents. The official fixed exchange rate of US$1=Bz$2 was established in 1976 and remained in effect in 1991.; Source: Library of Congress
birr (pl., birr; no symbol used): The Ethiopian monetary unit, composed of 100 cents. Introduced officially in 1976, replacing the Ethiopian dollar at par. Through mid-1991, US$1 equaled 2.07 birr, or 1 birr was worth about US$0.48.
Bretton Woods System: A structure of fixed exchange rates developed at the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference, which established the International Monetary Fund (q.v.) and the World Bank (q.v.). The Bretton Woods System was in effect until 1971.
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.
colon: El Salvador’s monetary unit, divided into 100 centavos. The colon was pegged by the government at US$1=C2.50 until November 1986, when it was officially devalued to US$1=C5 as part of an overall economic austerity package. As of late 1988, there was no parallel exchange market, but dollars could be traded at a higher rate on the black market.
córdoba (C$): Nicaraguan monetary unit from 1912 to 1988. Relatively stable for most of that period, the córdoba’s value plummeted in 1985. By mid-1988 the official rate was US$1 = C$20,000 (US$1 = C$60,000 on the black market), and the córdoba was replaced by the new córdoba (C$n; q.v.) at a rate of 1,000 córdobas to 1 new córdoba.
CPSU (Communist Party of the Soviet Union): Since 1952 the official name of the communist party in the Soviet Union (q.v.). After the August coup d’état (q.v.), in which the party played a prominent role, Russian president Boris N. Yeltsin banned the party in Russia and ordered its property turned over to the government. The Communist Party of Belarus was banned in Belarus in August 1991, as was the Communist Party of Moldova in Moldova.; Source: Library of Congress
crown colony: A system of British colonial administration under which Britain retained control over defense, foreign affairs, internal security, and various administrative and budget matters. Crown colonies were governed internally by a British-appointed governor and a locally elected assembly. Prior to the Morant Bay Rebellion in Jamaica in 1865, crown colony government was limited to Trinidad and St. Lucia. In 1871 in Belize and in 1928 in Guyana, the representative assemblies were dissolved, and the colonies were governed directly by the Colonial Office in London and by a British-appointed governor who was assisted by a local council, most of whose members were appointed by the governor. In time, however, an increasing number of officials were locally elected rather than appointed. Following the report of the Moyne Commission in 1938, the crown colony system was modified to make local councils even more representative and to give local officials more administrative responsibility. Nevertheless, defense, foreign affairs, and internal security remained the prerogatives of the crown.; Source: Library of Congress
Cultural Revolution: A slogan introduced by Mao Zedong in 1940, noted again by Liu Shaoqi in 1958, and used more frequently in connection with leftist attacks on the ""cultural front"" in late 1965 and early 1966. The expression was used to denote the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, a political campaign officially inaugurated in August 1966 to rekindle revolutionary fervor of the masses outside formal party organizations. The Cultural Revolution decade (1966-76) can be divided into three periods: 1966-69, from the militant Red Guard (q.v.) phase to the Ninth National Party Congress; 1969- 71, the period of the zenith and demise of Lin Biao; and 1971-76, the period of Mao’s declining health and the ascendancy of the Gang of Four (q.v.). At the August 1977 Eleventh National Party Congress, the Cultural Revolution was declared officially to have ended with the arrest in October 1976 of the Gang of Four.
Czech and Slovak Federative Republic (CSFR): official name of the former Czechoslovakia, adopted in December 1990 to recognize the two ethnic components of that country. (Czechoslovakia was still used as the short form designation after that date.) In January 1993, divided into two independent states, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, which retained some economic and security ties.
deutsche mark (DM): The national currency unit, consisting of 100 pfennigs. The value of the deutsche mark has fluctuated with international monetary developments--generally upward since its introduction in the currency reform of 1948. The number of deutsche marks per US$1 averaged 4.20 in 1950, 4.20 in 1960, 4.00 in 1965, 3.65 in 1970, 2.62 in 1975, 1.96 in 1980, 2.94 in 1985, 1.62 in 1990, 1.56 in 1992, 1.65 in 1993, 1.64 in 1994, and 1.43 in 1995.
Devanagari: Literally, ""the script of the city of the gods."" Script used in the written forms of Hindi, Marathi, Nepali, Tibetan, Sanskrit, and in some forms of Konkani. In use in North India throughout the second millennium A.D.
dinar: Basic currency unit consisting of 1,000 fils; created in 1950 as replacement for the Palestinian pound. Dinar’s value was established at parity with the British pound sterling, or a value of US$2.80 equal to JD1. Jordan, as a member of the sterling area, maintained parity with the British pound until 1967 when the British devalued their currency. Jordan did not follow the pound, retaining the dinar at US$2.80 equal to JD1 through 1972. When United States currency was devalued in 1973, the dinar was unlinked from the dollar, since which time the rate has fluctuated. Beginning in February 1975, the dinar was pegged to the special drawing right (SDR--q.v.). According to International Monetary Fund (IMF--q.v.) data, the average conversion rate of the dinar for trade and other purposes was US$3.04 in 1987, US$2.1 in 1988, and US$1.54 in 1989.
Dominican Republic peso (RD$): Dominican monetary unit, divided into 100 centavos. The Dominican government officially maintained a one-to-one exchange rate between the peso and the United States dollar until 1985, when the peso was allowed to float freely against the dollar for most transactions. In 1988, the exchange rate reached US$1=RD$8.00; it subsequently leveled off to US$1=RD$6.35 by 1989. The government decided in 1988 to reinstitute a fixed exchange rate that it would adjust periodically in accord with prevailing economic conditions.
dong (D): Vietnam’s monetary unit, which in mid-1989 had an exchange rate of US$1 to D4,500.
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
etatism: Often considered as state socialism. In Turkish use, it involves state control of some industries and public services.
European Monetary System (EMS): Established in 1979 by the European Economic Community (EEC--q.v.), the EMS was created to stabilize currency values because the Bretton Woods system (q.v.) proved not fully satisfactory. All European Union (EU--q.v.) countries are EMS members. The EMS is to be succeeded by the European Monetary Union (EMU--q.v.).
European Monetary Union (EMU): The EMU is a plan for a single European central bank and for a single European currency to replace national banks and currencies for those European states that qualify. The EMU is the planned follow-on of the European Monetary System (EMS--q.v.).
exchange rate mechanism (ERM): Mechanism established in 1979 to regulate currency exchange rates in the European Monetary System (EMS--q.v.). Member currencies are permitted to fluctuate in value only within a narrow margin (the so-called snake).; Source: Library of Congress
faqih: An expert in religious jurisprudence, specifically a Shia cleric whose mastery of the Quran, the traditions of the Prophet and the Twelve Imans, and the codices of Shia Islamic law permit him to render binding interpretations of religious laws and regulations.
fatwa: An authoritative legal interpretation by a mufti or religious jurist that can provide the basis for court decision or government action.
four cardinal principles: Socialism; dictatorship of the proletariat; supporting the party leadership; and Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong Thought. In vogue in China since 1979.
Franc Zone: A monetary union among countries whose currencies are linked to the French franc. Members are France and its overseas appendages and fourteen African countries, including Comoros.
general secretary: The title of the head of the Communist party Secretariat, who presided over the Politburo and was the Soviet Union’s de facto supreme leader. From 1953 until 1966, the title was changed to first secretary.
gold córdoba (C$o, sometimes C$): Nicaraguan monetary unit divided into 100 centavos. Introduced in mid-1990, the gold córdoba replaced the new córdoba at a rate of 1 gold córdoba to 5 million new córdobas (q.v.). In mid- 1993, US$1 = C$o6.15.
gourde (G): The Haitian monetary unit, divided into 100 centimes. The official exchange rate of US$1=G5, established in 1919, remained in place in 1989. On the black market, however, the gourde traded at US$1=G7 or higher.
Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution: See Cultural Revolution.
Guyanese dollar (G$): Guyanese monetary unit, divided into 100 cents. The Guyanese dollar was repeatedly devalued in the 1980s, the official exchange rate dropping from US$1=G$4.25 in 1985 to US$1=G$10 in 1987. In April 1989, the government changed the official exchange rate to US$1=G$33. The unofficial (market) exchange rate at that time was reportedly US$1=G$60. In February 1991, the exchange rate was devalued further to align the official rate with the market rate, and the official exchange rate was adjusted weekly to keep this parity. As of June 1991, the official rate was US$1=G$125.; Source: Library of Congress
IMF (International Monetary Fund): Established along with the World Bank (q.v.) in 1945, the IMF is a specialized agency affiliated with the United Nations that takes responsibility for stabilizing international exchange rates and payments. The main business of the IMF is the provision of loans to its members when they experience balance of payments difficulties. These loans often carry conditions that require substantial internal economic adjustments by the recipients.
Informal Sector: Small, competitive individual or family firms engaged in petty retail trade and services, typically in urban areas.
Inter-Governmental Group on Indonesia (IGGI): An international group of lenders established in 1967 by the Netherlands to coordinate multilateral aid to Indonesia. The other members included the Asian Development Bank, International Monetary Fund (q.v.), United Nations Development Programme, World Bank (q.v.), Australia, Belgium, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United States. In March 1992, Indonesia announced that it was rejecting further IGGI aid as long as the Netherlands chaired the organization. IGGI was replaced by the Consultative Group on Indonesia (q.v.).
International Monetary Fund (IMF): Established on December 27, 1945, the IMF began operating on March 1, 1947. The IMF is a specialized agency affiliated with the United Nations that takes responsibility for stabilizing international exchange rates and payments. The IMF’s main business is the provision of loans to its members when they experience balance of payments difficulties. These loans often carry conditions that require substantial internal economic adjustments by the recipients. The IMF’s capital resources comprise Special Drawing Rights and currencies that the members pay under quotas calculated for them when they join. These resources are supplemented by borrowing. In 1993 the IMF had 167 members.
KGB (Komitet gosudarstvennoy bezopasnosti in Russian): Committee for State Security. The predominant Soviet security police organization since its establishment in 1954 as the successor to the MVD (Ministry of Internal Affairs; Ministerstvo vnutrennykh del, in Russian). In October 1991, when Mikhail S. Gorbachev decreed that the KGB be disbanded because of its involvement in the August coup d’état (q.v.), the assets and willing personnel of the KGB in Moldova were transferred to the new republic’s government, to the Ministry of National Security. In Belarus the new government took control of the KGB but did not change its name.; Source: Library of Congress
Lamaism: Tibetan Buddhism, became the state religion of Mongolia in 1586.
Lao People's Liberation Army (LPLA): Official title of Pathet Lao armed forces, more commonly known as the communist revolutionaries, or guerrilla forces. The LPLA originated with the Latsavong detachment, formed in January 1949 by Kaysone Phomvihan, and steadily increased in number to an estimated 8,000 guerrillas in 1960 and an estimated 48,000 troops between 1962 and 1970.
Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP) (Phak Pasason Pativat Lao): Founded secretly in 1955 as the Phak Pasason Lao (Lao People’s Party--LPP); name changed in 1972. Seized full power and became the ruling (communist) party of Laos in 1975. The LPRP Central Committee formulates party policy; it is dominated by the Political Bureau (Politburo) and the Secretariat and maintains control by placing its members in key institutions throughout the government and the army.
lempira (L): Honduras monetary unit from 1926 to present. For most of that period, the lempira’s value was pegged at US$1=L2. Devalued in 1990, in December 1993, the official rate was US$1=L5.9.
leu (pl., lei): The monetary unit of Moldova, introduced in November 1993. The exchange rate was 4.27 lei per US$1 at the beginning of 1995. The leu is convertible.; Source: Library of Congress
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.
Living Buddha or Incarnate Buddha: Western term for Tibetan Buddhist leaders who are considered incarnations and reincarnations of buddhas actively working for human salvation. Mongolia’s Jebtsundamba Khutuktu was one of the many Living Buddhas.
Marxism-Leninism/Marxist-Leninist: The ideology of communism, developed by Karl Marx and refined and adapted to social and economic conditions in Russia by Lenin, which guided the communist parties of many countries including Albania and the Soviet Union. Marx talked of the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat after the overthrow of the bourgeoisie as a transitional socialist phase before the achievement of communism. Lenin added the idea of a communist party as the vanguard or leading force in promoting the proletarian revolution and building communism. Stalin and subsequent East European leaders, including Enver Hoxha, contributed their own interpretations of the ideology.; Source: Library of Congress
Mauretania: Classical name for the ancient Berber kingdom in the northwest African and Roman provinces that succeeded it. Cited in some sources as Mauritania but not to be confused with the modern Islamic Republic of Mauritania.
Mauritanian Kadihine Party: Clandestine leftist political party compromised primarily of Mauritanian’s proletariat and other low-wage workers. The party was formed in 1973 after the Mauritanian People’s Party, Mauritania’s sole political party, absorbed the country’s previously independent trade union. Literally kadihine means ""the oppressed"" or ""downtrodden.""