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.

Backward Classes: Citizens of India otherwise defined as members of Scheduled Castes (q.v.), Scheduled Tribes (q.v.), and other low-ranking and disadvantaged groups (sometimes referred to as Other Backward Classes). Discrimination against the Backward Classes is prohibited by Article 15 of the Indian constitution. The Backward Classes reportedly constitute an estimated 52 percent of India’s population. The Mandal Commission (q.v.) identified 3,743 Backward Classes.
Committee for Coordination of Investigations of the Lower Mekong Basin: Established in 1957 under the sponsorship of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, the Committee aims to develop water resources in the lower Mekong basin through improvements in hydroelectric power, irrigation, flood control, watershed management, and navigation. Its membership is limited to Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam.
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
Cyrillic: An alphabet based on Greek characters that was created in the ninth century for translating Eastern Orthodox religious texts into Old Church Slavonic (q.v.). Named for Cyril, the leader of the first religious mission from Byzantium to the Slavic people, the alphabet is used in Russia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Ukraine, and Yugoslavia. The Central Asian republics, Moldova, and Azerbaijan used a modified Cyrillic alphabet in the Soviet period.
Cyrillic alphabet: An alphabet, based on Greek characters, that was created in the ninth century to serve as a medium for writing Orthodox texts translated from Greek into Old Church Slavonic (q.v.). Named for Cyril, the leader of the first religious mission from Constantinople to the Slavic peoples, Cyrillic is used by modern Russian, Belarusian, ""Moldavian"" (q.v.), and several other languages, both Slavic and non-Slavic.; Source: Library of Congress
danwei (work unit): The basic-level organization through which party and government officials control social, political, and economic behavior of residents. The danwei typically controls the allocation of housing, grain, edible oil, and cotton rations; the issuance of permits to travel, to marry, and to bear or adopt children; and permission to enter the army, party, and university and to change employment.
Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC): A United Nations regional economic commission established on February 25, 1948, as the Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLA). More commonly known in Latin America as Comisión Económica para América Latina (CEPAL). In 1984 ECLAC expanded its operations and title to include the Caribbean. Main functions are to initiate and coordinate policies aimed at promoting economic development. In addition to the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, ECLAC’s forty-one members include Britain, Canada, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and the United States. There are an additional five Caribbean associate members.; Source: Library of Congress
French Equatorial Africa (Afrique Equatoriale Française--AEF): The former colonial federation of areas that later became the independent states of Chad, Gabon, Central African Republic, and Congo. A history of French rule and missionary involvement forged organizational ties connecting these areas. The AEF was dissolved in 1958, but upon gaining independence in 1960, Chad joined former AEF members in a multilateral military assistance agreement with France.
hujar (collective pl.): Refers to the agricultural settlements of the Ikhwan (q.v.), which combined features of religious missions, farming communities, and army camps. Word from same root as hijra; has sense of separation from previous affiliation.
Hundred Flowers Campaign: Also Double Hundred Campaign. Party-sponsored initiative to permit greater intellectual and artistic freedom. Introduced first into drama and other arts in the spring of 1956 under the official slogan ""Let a hundred flowers bloom, let the hundred schools of thought contend."" With Mao’s encouragement in January 1957, the campaign was extended to intellectual expression and, by early May 1957, was being interpreted as permission for intellectuals to criticize political institutions of the regime. The effect was the large-scale exposure and purge of intellectuals critical of party and government policies.
import-substitution industrialization: An economic development strategy and a form of protectionism that emphasizes the growth of domestic industries by restricting the importation of specific manufactured goods, often by using tariff (q.v.) and nontariff measures, such as import quotas. Theoretically, capital would thus be generated through savings of foreign-exchange earnings. Proponents favor the export of industrial goods over primary products and foreign-exchange considerations. In the post-World War II period, import-substitution industrialization was most prevalent in Latin America. Its chief ideological proponents were the Argentine economist Raúl Prebisch and the Economic Commission for Latin America (q.v.). Main weaknesses in Latin America: the domestic markets in the region were generally too small; goods manufactured domestically were too costly and noncompetitive in the world market; most states in the region had an insufficient variety of resources to build a domestic industry; and most were also too dependent on foreign technology.; Source: Library of Congress
Mandal Commission: A government-appointed commission, officially the Second Backwards Classes Commission, chaired by former member of Parliament Bindhyeshwari Prasad Mandal from December 1978 to December 1980. Of the five members, four were from Backward Classes (q.v.) and one was from a Scheduled Caste (q.v.). The commission’s controversial December 1980 report (the Mandal Commission Report of the Backward Classes Commission) called for reserving 27 percent of all services and public-sector undertakings under the central government and 27 percent of all admissions to institutions of higher education (except in states that have reserved higher percentages) for Backward Class members and Dalits (q.v.). In August 1990, Prime Minister Vishwanath Pratap Singh announced his support for the radical affirmative-action 1980 proposals. The First Backward Classes Commission existed from January 1950 to March 1955.
Pale of Settlement: Area of twenty-five provinces of czarist Russia within which Jews were allowed to live, outside of which they could reside only with specific permission.; Source: Library of Congress
Party Rules: HSWP document, which can be altered by the party congress. The Party Rules contain sections on regulations for admission into the HSWP, the organizational structure of the party, the principles of democratic centralism, the role of the Basic Organization, the tasks of the party in state and mass organizations, and membership dues.
search and destroy missions: Offensive military operations undertaken by United States combat units in Vietnam to find and neutralize the enemy, especially when the enemy’s strength and disposition had not been fixed precisely. The capture and holding of territory during such operations was not a priority.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR): Established by the United Nations in 1949, it did not become effective until 1951. The first world institution to aid refugees, the UNHCR seeks to ensure the humanitarian treatment of refugees and find a permanent solution to refugee problems. The agency deals with the international protection of refugees and problems arising from mass movements of people forced to seek refuge.