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.

""Moldavian"" (moldavskiy in Russian): Term used by the Soviet government to describe the language and nationality of the ethnic Romanians (q.v.) in Bessarabia (q.v.). Joseph V. Stalin claimed that their language and nationality were different and distinct from the language and nationality of the ethnic Romanians in Romania as a justification for creating the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1940. In actuality, the ""Moldavian"" language is a dialect of Romanian. Under the Soviet regime, ""Moldavia"" was used as the short form for the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic.; Source: Library of Congress
""popular"" sectors: A term similar to popular culture, referring to the masses of working-class, underemployed, and unemployed citizens.; Source: Library of Congress
Adae: Akan sacred day. According to the traditional lunar calendar, an Adae day occurs every fortnight.
adelantado: In the sixteenth century, the Spanish crown awarded the office of adelantado to selected individuals who, at their own expense, undertook the discovery and conquest of new overseas territories. Adelantados served as executive officers to govern a region, to act as head of military forces at distant frontier posts, or to command a military expedition.; Source: Library of Congress
Age Structure: Age Structure is the distribution of the population according to age. The age structure of a population affects a nation’s key socioeconomic issues. Countries with young populations (high percentage under age 15) need to invest more in schools, while countries with older populations (high percentage ages 65 and over) need to invest more in the health sector. The age structure can also be used to help predict potential political issues. For example, the rapid growth of a young adult population unable to find employment can lead to unrest.
agora (pl., agorot): An Israeli coin. One hundred agorot equal one new Israeli shekel--NIS (q.v.).; Source: Library of Congress
Alliance for Progress: Established in 1961 at a hemispheric meeting in Punta del Este, Uruguay, under the leadership of President John F. Kennedy as a long-range program to help develop and modernize Latin American states through multisector reforms, particularly in health and education. Involved various forms of foreign aid, including development loans offered at very low or zero interest rates, from the United States to all states of Latin America and the Caribbean, except Cuba.; Source: Library of Congress
amirate: Political entity under the rule of an amir. Analogous to a shaykhdom and, if an independent state, to a kingdom.; Source: Library of Congress
Andean Initiative (or Andean Strategy): At the February 1990 Cartagena (Colombia) Drug Summit, the presidents of Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, and the United States agreed to mount a regional attack on the drug trade. Their governments thereby qualified for United States counternarcotics assistance. After taking office in July 1990, President Alberto K. Fujimori proposed a comprehensive counternarcotics effort, to include narcotic law enforcement, demand reduction, public diplomacy, and economic development. However, progress in organizing this strategy was hindered by police/military rivalries and corruption. Furthermore, in late September 1990 Fujimori turned down US$35.9 million in authorized FY1990 United States military assistance after the United States failed to meet his concerns about the military focus of its antidrug strategy in Peru. After extensive talks, Fujimori signed the Peru-United States umbrella agreement on drug control and economic assistance on May 14, 1991, establishing a political understanding at the highest level and serving as a framework for a coordinated, comprehensive program to dismantle the drug trade in Peru with assistance with the United States, other developed countries, and international organizations. It addresses the role of the police and military in counternarcotics activities, alternative econmic assistance, crop substitution, and access to establishing legitimate economies versus the cultivation and illicit processing of coca leaf into cocaine products.
Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM Treaty): A 1972 agreement limiting deployment of United States and Soviet anti-ballistic missile (ABM) systems. A protocol signed in 1974 limited each party to a single ABM system deployment area. In 1996 the United States and Russia negotiated to modify the terms of the treaty in order to permit testing of technology against non-intercontinental delivery systems.
apparatchik: Russian colloquial word for someone who has been engaged full time in the work of the CPSU (q.v.) and/or the republic communist parties. Sometimes used in a derogatory sense.; Source: Library of Congress
Arab Socialist Union: ASU. The mass organization created in 1971 to provide a framework for popular participation and representation within the political system. Reorganized in 1975 to include the local-level Basic Popular Congresses (BPCs) and the intermediates-level Municipal Popular Congresses, (MPCs) both of which send delegated to the national General People’s Congress (GPC--q.v.); organization was disbanded in January 1976. Not to be confused with the Egyptian political organization of the same name.
Asante/Ashanti/Ashantee: Akan group, geographically located to the central part of the country. Founders of the Asante Empire, and speakers of Asante-Twi language.
Asian Development Bank: Established in 1967, the bank assists in economic development and promotes growth and cooperation in developing member countries. The bank is owned by its forty-seven member governments, which include both developed and developing countries in Asia and developed countries in the West.
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN): Founded in 1967 for the purpose of promoting regional stability, economic development, and cultural exchange. ASEAN’s membership includes Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. India is a ""dialogue partner"" along with Austria, Canada, China, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea (South Korea), Russia, and the United States.
audiencia: Literally audience or court; a subdivision of a viceroyalty under Spanish colonial administration. As well as being the name of the administrative unit, the audiencia, composed of five men, was the highest governmental authority in the territory. During most of the colonial period, the president of the audiencia held the additional titles of governor and captain general; hence the alternative name for the audiencia was captaincy general. Although technically subordinate to the viceroyalty, the governor, or captain general, was appointed by the Spanish monarch and was responsible only to him or her. In practice, the governor frequently ignored orders from Spain and acted independently. For this reason, the Audiencia of Guatemala was frequently referred to in colonial times as the Kingdom of Guatemala.
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
ayllu: A self-governing and land-owning peasant community in the Andean highlands. May refer to either a village, a kinship group, or a class-like organization, usually based on collective agriculture. Although a pre-Columbian term, ayllu has been used as a synonym for contemporary highland Peasant Communities.
aymag: Provincial-level or second-level unit of administration in Mongolia since 1921. Aymags are divided into somon (q.v.). Traditionally, an aymag was a tribe.
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.
balance of trade: A record of a country’s trade in goods with the rest of the world. The balance of trade differs from the balance of payments (q.v.) because the latter includes transactions for services and the former does not. When the exports of merchandise exceed imports, a country is said to have a balance of trade surplus or to have a favorable balance of trade. When the imports of merchandise exceed exports, a country is said to have a balance of trade deficit or to have an unfavorable balance of trade.
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.
bandeirantes: Colonial Portuguese expeditions made up of adventurers, named after the Portuguese word for flag (bandeira) because they traveled under the bandeira of their leader, who took with him kin, friends, slaves, and friendly Amerindians.; Source: Library of Congress
Bangladesh National Party: Political party of Ziaur Rahman (Zia). Founded in 1978 and became majority party during Zia’s presidency.; Source: Library of Congress
Bantu: Literally, ""human beings,"" in more than 300 Bantu languages of equatorial and southern Africa. Bantu languages are classified within the central branch of the Niger-Congo language family; characterized by a system of noun classes marked by prefixes, so that each dependent word in a sentence carries a prefix of the same class. Outsiders often simplify by omitting prefix; for example, the amaZulu (people) are known as the Zulu; their language, isiZulu, is also referred to as Zulu. Speakers of seSotho, the BaSotho, are often referred to simply as Sotho peoples. Four major subgroups of Bantu languages--Nguni, Sotho, Tsonga-Shangaan, and Venda--are widely represented in South Africa. They include nine of South Africa’s official languages--isiXhosa, isiZulu, isiNdebele, sePedi, seSotho, seTswana, siSwati, tshiVenda (also luVenda), and xiTsonga. During the apartheid era, the term Bantu was often used in government regulations, official statements, and sometimes in conversation to designate people of black African descent. Because this group was particularly disadvantaged by apartheid, the term Bantu assumed pejorative connotations in many apartheid-era contexts.
baraka: Quality of blessedness or grace found characteristically in marabouts (q.v.) and other divinely favored persons. Also, charisma that endows the blessed with a special capacity to rule.
barrels per day: Production of crude oil and petroleum products is frequently measured in barrels per day, often abbreviated bpd or bd. A barrel is a volume measure of forty-two United States gallons. Conversion of barrels to metric tons depends on the density of a specific product. About 7.3 barrels of average crude oil, or about 7 barrels of heavy crude oil, weigh 1 metric ton. Light products, such as gasoline and kerosene, average close to eight barrels per metric ton.
barrels per day (bpd): Production of crude oil and petroleum products is frequently measured in barrels per day. A barrel is a volume measure of forty- two United States gallons. Conversion of barrels to metric tons depends on the density of the special product. About 7.3 barrels of average crude oil weigh one metric ton. Heavy products would be about seven barrels per metric ton. Light products, such as gasoline and kerosene, would average eight barrels per metric ton.; Source: Library of Congress
barriadas: Squatter settlements or shantytowns that surround Lima and other urban centers. Since the late 1960s, these settlements have been also known as pueblos jóvenes (young towns).
Bektashi: An order of dervishes of the Shia branch of the Muslim faith founded, according to tradition, by Hajji Bektash Wali of Khorasan, in present-day Iran, in the thirteenth century and given definitive form by Balim, a sultan of the Ottoman Empire in the sixteenth century. Bektashis continue to exist in the Balkans, primarily in Albania, where their chief monastery is at Tiranë.; Source: Library of Congress
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
Bessarabia: Region between the Dniester and Prut rivers north of the Black Sea. Seized by the Soviet Union in 1940, it was merged with Bukovina (q.v.) to form the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic.
Bessarabia (Basarabia in Romanian): Former principality, originally composed of lands owned by the Basarab Dynasty of Walachia (q.v.), extending inland from the Black Sea coast and bounded on the west by the Prut River and on the east by the Nistru River. In 1812 the name was extended to all the land between the Prut and Nistru rivers by the Russian Empire (q.v.), to which Bessarabia was awarded by the Treaty of Bucharest. The bulk of Bessarabia makes up most of the present-day Republic of Moldova.; Source: Library of Congress
bey: ruler of a province under the Ottoman Empire.; Source: Library of Congress
big-character posters (dazibao): Posters, limited-circulation newspapers, excerpted press articles, pamphlets, and blackboard news using large-sized ideographs and mounted on walls as a popular form of communication. Used in China since imperial times but more commonly since literacy increased after the 1911 revolution. Used more frequently after 1949 to publicize party programs and as a means of protest. Became ubiquitous during the Cultural Revolution (q.v.); guaranteed as one of the ""four big rights"" in the 1975 state constitution.
binomial electoral system: In this unique majority system, which governs Chile’s congressional elections, political parties or groupings form pacts and permit slates (two candidates per slate), from which two senators and two deputies are elected from each district. By requiring each party to obtain two-thirds of the vote in each district for the successful election of its two candiddates to the legislature, this system gives the opposition disproporationate representation in 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.
boat people: Refugees who fled Vietnam by sea after 1975. Many fell victim to pirate attacks in the Gulf of Thailand, drowned, or endured starvation and dehydration as a result of their escape in ill- equipped and undersized vessels. Those who reached safety in neighboring Southeast Asian countries were accorded temporary asylum in refugee camps while awaiting permanent resettlement in industrialized Western nations willing to accept them.
Bogomil heresy: A religious sect founded in Bulgaria and flourishing in the Balkans between the tenth and fifteenth centuries. It combined beliefs from several contemporaneous religions, most notably the Paulicians from Asia Minor (q.v.). The central belief was that the material world was created by the devil.; Source: Library of Congress
boliviano: Bolivia’s official unit of currency. Replaced the peso on January 1, 1987. In 1988 the exchange rate was B2.3=US$1. Readoption of the boliviano (Bolivia’s currency prior to January 1963) in January 1987 redressed the damage done to the currency by hyperinflation.; Source: Library of Congress
Bolshevik: A member of the radical group within the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party, which, under Vladimir I. Lenin’s leadership, staged the Bolshevik Revolution. In March 1918, the Bolsheviks formed the Russian Communist Party (Bolshevik) and began calling themselves Communists (q.v.). That party was the precursor of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU-- q.v.).; Source: Library of Congress
brahman: The Absolute Reality, the eternal, supreme, or ultimate principle. A state of pure transcendence. In some Vedantic schools of Hindu thought, a Supreme Being who is the cause of the universe, with theistic attributes. Not to be confused with Brahman (q.v., the priestly caste group).
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.
Brezhnev Doctrine: The Soviet Union’s declared right to intervene in the internal affairs of another socialist state if the leading role of that state’s communist party was threatened. Formulated as justification for the Soviet Union’s invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968. Mikhail S. Gorbachev implicitly abandoned the Brezhnev Doctrine in 1989.
Bukovina (Bucovina in Romanian; Bukovyna in Ukrainian): An area in the eastern foothills of the Carpathian Mountains populated principally by ethnic Ukrainians and Romanians. Over the centuries, Bukovina has belonged to various states, including Kievan Rus’, Moldova, and Austria-Hungary. In 1940 the northern half of Bukovina became part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, while the southern half remained part of Romania.; Source: Library of Congress
Bukovina (var., Bucovina): Region in the foothills of the Eastern Carpathians at the headwaters of the Prut, Siret, and Dniester rivers. The region belonged to Romania between World War I and World War II, but was annexed by the Soviet Union in 1940.
Bund: A political labor organization of Jewish workers founded in Vilna, Lithuania in 1987. The name is an abbreviation in Yiddish for The General Union of Jewish Workers in Russia, Lithuania, and Poland. The Bund opposed Zionism and viewed Yiddish as the only secular Jewish language.; Source: Library of Congress
Bund(General Union of Jewish Workers in Russia and Poland): A Jewish socialist movement founded in Vilnius in 1897 by Jewish workers and intellectuals in the Russian Empire (q.v.). The Bund divided into two groups in 1920. The larger group merged with the Bolshevik (q.v.) branch of the communist party, while the minority remained independent until it was suppressed by the Bolshevik government. The Bund was active in Poland between the two world wars.; Source: Library of Congress