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.

Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU): The official name of the communist party in the Soviet Union after 1952. Originally the Bolshevik (majority) faction of a prerevolutionary Russian party, the party was named the Russian Communist Party (Bolshevik) from 1918 until it was renamed in 1952.; Source: Library of Congress
Indian National Congress: Founded in 1885; before and after 1947, popularly called Congress or the Congress. A major force in the independence movement, the Congress has been dominant in Parliament and formed governments from 1947 to 1977, 1980 to 1985, and 1991 to 1996. In 1969 the Congress split, and the ruling party under Indira Gandhi became known as Congress (R)--R for Requisition--while the faction opposed to her was called Congress (O)--O for Organisation. In 1978 she renamed her party Congress (I)--I for Indira. There also have been Congress (S)--S for Socialist or Secular--and Congress (U)--for Urs, named after its founder Devanaj Urs--splinter groups.
Khmer Rouge: The name given to the Cambodian communists by Prince Norodom Sihanouk in the 1960s. Later, the term (although a misnomer) was applied to the insurgents of varying ideological backgrounds who opposed the Khmer Republic regime of Lon Nol. Between 1975 and 1978, it denoted the Democratic Kampuchea regime led by the radical Pol Pot faction of the Kampuchean (or Khmer) Communist Party. After being driven from Phnom Penh by the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia in December 1978, the Khmer Rouge went back to guerrilla warfare and joined forces with two noncommunist insurgent movements to form the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea.
PP: Partido Panameñista (Panameñista Party). Small break-away faction of Panameñistas. Part of pro-government coalition, UNADE (q.v.), in 1984 elections, but lost legal status by failing to win 3 percent of total vote.
Thirty Years' War: Conventional name for a fifty-year struggle (1610-60) of various factions including Protestant nobles and French kings against the Holy Roman Empire (q.v.) and its ruling Habsburg Dynasty for control of parts of Europe, including the Baltic coast. The fiercest period of the war was 1618-48, hence the misnomer Thirty Years’ War.