Daybook
Publications
The International Observer Recent Issues
ISSN: 1075-4644
GLOBAL SURVEY Vol. 52 No. 522
January 2022
INTERNATIONAL AND POLITICAL TERMS
This 17th
revised edition is designed to provide accurate and useful information on the
subject matter covered. Every reasonable effort is made to include current data
from authoritative sources and verify its accuracy.
5+2
Talks
about Transdniestria by Moldova, Transdniestria, Russia, Ukraine, Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and Observers of the European
Union (EU) and the United States of America.
5+5
European Union (EU)-Arab
Maghreb Union (UMA) informal group formed 1990. See Dialogue 5+5.
Aforado
Dignitary,
incl. members of the royal family, judiciary, and politicians who have the
right to be tried for crimes at a higher court (Spain).
Aiwan-e-Sadr
Residence
of the President of Pakistan in Islamabad.
Akasaka Palace
Chief
residence of the Japanese emperor in Tokyo.
Ak Orda Presidential Palace (Ak
Orda ‘the White Horde’ – Akorda)
Official
residence of the President of Kazakhstan in Nursultan
(Astana).
Ak Saray (White Palace)
New residence of the
President of Turkey on the grounds of the Atatürk Forest Farm (AOÇ) in the Beştepe neighborhood of Ankara, completed in 2015.
Ala-Archa (Juniper Park)
Name of the state residence
of the president of Kyrgyzstan and of the national park, located about 40 km south of the capital.
Althing
Icelandic
parliament in
Official
residence of the Brazilian president in Brasília.
amakudari
Practice of hiring retired
civil servants as heads of public corporations (Japanese).
Andean Group
Regional group formed on 26
May 1969.
Arg Palace
Former
royal palace in central Kabul. Seat of the presidency and
presidential residence.
Axis of Evil#
Term used by US President
George W. Bush in the State of Union Address on 28 January 2002 encompassing
Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Libya, and North Korea—see also “countries of concern” and “rogue countries.”
back bench, back
bencher
Members
of British and Commonwealth parliaments seated in the rear, i.e. members who do
not belong to the cabinet or shadow [opposition] cabinet. See also front bench.
Bahasa Indonesia
Malay
language of
Bahasa
Malay
language of
Ballhausplatz
Center of
government in
Baltic States
Political
reference to
Baluwatar
Residential
section of northern Kathmandu and location of the official residence of the
prime minister. Colloquially used as synonym for government and prime minister.
Bamboo Curtain#
Reference analogous to Iron Curtain and formerly applied to
Bangabhavan
President’s House in
Barcelona Process
Partnership
between the European Union (EU) and 12 countries south of the
Basman
Royal
palace of the King of Jordan in
Agreement among Stanislav
S. Shuskhevich (Belarus), Boris N. Yel’tsin (Russia), and Leonid M. Kravchuk
(Ukraine) who met at the Belaya Vezha hunting lodge
near Brest on 7-8 December 1991 to establish the Commonwealth of Independent
States (CIS).
Bellevue Castle (Schloss Bellevue)
Residence
of Federal President of Federal Republic of Germany at Spreeweg
1, Tiergarten district, in Berlin (since 1994).
Belt and Road
Initiative
of the People’s Republic of China of 28 March 2015 to enhance infrastructure
links and regional connectivity with Central Asia, Europe, and Russia.
Belvedere (Belweder) Palace
Official
residence of the Polish president in
Bercy
Reference to French finance
ministry located at 139 rue de Bercy in
Barrier erected on 17
August 1963 by the East German government between East and West Berlin to
prevent commuting and defections from
Bessastadir
Location
of the official residence of the President of Iceland on Alftanes
peninsula, outside
Beştepe
Ankara
District where the Turkish presidential complex is located.
bidun
Non-citizen,
especially in
Big Brother#
Informal reference used in
communist Eastern Europe to the
Big Four#
Major allies in World War
2:
Big Four
The world’s four major oil
enterprises: BP-Amoco, Exxon Mobil, Shell, and Total-Fina.
Formerly part of Seven
Sisters.
Big Man
Commonly
used in
Big Three#
Major allies in World War
2:
Bina Graha
Office of
the Indonesian president in
black
In
blood diamonds, see Kimberley Process
BLS States
Three land-locked states
bordering on
blue
In
Blue Helmets
United
Nations peacekeeping forces.
Official
residence of the South Korean president in
Blue states
US states in which citizens
vote predominantly for the Democratic Party; see also Red states.
Bocharov Ruchei
Government residence at the
Bonn/Berlin process
International year-long
effort initiated by the German federal government to suggest ways to strengthen
the capacity to implement arms embargoes, travel and aviation-related sanctions
by the United Nations (UN) and member states.
Brezhnev Doctrine#
Formulated in 1968 by then
President Leonid Brezhnev (1906-1982) declaring that “socialism is indivisible,
and its defense is the common cause of all Communists,” i.e., a socialist
country cannot leave the communist bloc.
bumiputra
Sons of
the soil, i.e. native Malays of peninsular
Bundeskanzler
Federal chancellor, i.e.
head of government in Austria and Germany, head of the administrative office of
the government in Switzerland.
Bundesrat
Swiss Federal Council
(i.e., government executive).
Bundesrat
Upper
house of parliament in
Bundestag
German
parliament (lower house) in
bu zheteng
Do not get sidetracked, see Three Don’ts (Chinese)
C5+1
Format
for dialog between the five Central Asian states (formerly part of the Soviet
Union) and the United States of America, launched on 1 November 2015 by the US.
cabinet meeting
Regular or extraordinary
session of government ministers to discuss and decide on matters of state. Some
governments hold periodic meetings, such as
at 10 o’clock, chaired by the
president.
Russia: Council of Ministers, every Tuesday, held in the
Kremlin.
Russia: President holds meeting of the Security Council
every Saturday on
foreign and domestic policy in
the Kremlin.
cacique
Local
party boss (
Caliphate
Community
of Muslims led by a supreme religious (and political) leader (khila’afa, Arabic).
Cámara de Diputados
Mexican
Chamber of Deputies in
Camera dei Deputati
Italian
Chamber of Deputies in
Former
residence of the Turkish President, 6 km south of downtown Ankara. See Ak Saray.
Carnation Revolution#
Bloodless “Revolution of
Carnations” carried out on 25 April 1974 by progressive officers ending
civilian dictatorship in
Official
residence of the Ecuadorian President, located in
Carthage Palace
The Palace of the Republic
is the official residence of the President of Tunisia, located in Carthage, 15
kilometers from the capital of Tunis.
Casa Rosada
Official
residence of the Argentine president in
Castle
Seat of
the government in
Informal
designation of
Central Powers#
Austria-Hungary,
Germany, and Turkey in World War 1. See also
Entente.
Černin Palace
Seat of
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
chaebol
Large
family-controlled conglomerates in
Charly
Nickname
for the seat of the Council of Ministers of the European Union on avenue
Charlemagne in
Chaudhry, Chouhry, Chaudhari,
Chowdhury
Village
leader (
Chengguan
Urban
management officials Chinese).
Chevening House
Residence
of the British foreign secretary in
Chigi Palace
Official residenceof the Italian prime mininister
in Piazza Colonna, Rome, also the seat of he
Council of Ministers (i.e., the Cabinet).
Chongwadae
Offices
of the President of the
Christiansborg
Seat of
Danish parliament in
Chrysanthemum Throne
Reference
to the Emperor of
chuch’e (chuch’e sasang)
Unitary
ideology of
CIS-7 countries
The seven poorest countries
of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) according to the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2003:
City (The City)
British
financial district in
It holds that the
international community has an obligation to violate the principle of state
sovereignty to protect the rights of a persecuted minority (
Club of
Informal group of business
leaders, politicians, and scientists formed 1968 to advance social justice and
harmony with the environment.
Company (The Company)
Nickname
for the
Composite Dialogue Process (CDP)
Process agreed upon by
A
5.7 million km2 maritime conservation area east of the South China
Sea, south of the Philippine Sea, and north of Australia encompassing eastern
Indonesia, parts of Malaysia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste
and the Solomon Islands.
Cortes
Spanish
parliament in
Seat of
Romanian president in Bucharest.
countries of concern
US Government term for
Cultural Revolution#
The Great Proletarian
Cultural Revolution was launched by Mao Zedong (1893-1976) on 2 September 1965
to counter the moderate government of Liu Shao-ch’i
and Deng Xiaoping. It was approved by the 11th Plenum of the Central Committee
of the Communist Party on 8 August 1966 and Red Guards were created to destroy old authority. The campaign was formally
ended by the 9th Party Congress in 1969.
Dáil
Irish
House of Representatives in
danwei
Basic
unit of a collective (Chinese).
Dear Leader
Adulatory
address of North Korean leader Kim Chong-il.
Deauville Partnership
Platform with Arab
Countries in Transition established at the 37th summit of the Group
of Eight (G8) on 26-27 May 2011 in Deauville, Calvados Department, France
Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (DPR)
Indonesian
House of Representatives in
Dewan Rakyat
Malaysian
House of Representatives in
Dialogue 5+5
Five representatives each
of the European Union (EU) and North African countries advancing closer
cooperation:
doi moi
Vietnamese police of
renovation, adopted by Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP) in December 1986 as
economic reform program.
Dolgiye Borody
Residence
of President Vladimir Putin near Lake Valdai, 386 km north of Moscow.
Domino Effect, Domino Theory#
Assumption, especially
favored by US political and military leaders in the 1960s, that if then
Doshusei
Reorganization
of local administrative system of
Location
of official residence and office of the British prime minister in
Dublin Group
Group of Asian, European and North American governments specializing in
problems of narcotics production and trafficking.
Duma
State
Duma, Russian federal parliament.
E3 states
France, Germany and the
United Kingdom when addressing Iran’s nuclear program
East River
Location
of UN Headquarters in
Eduscunta
Finnish
parliament in
Elysée Palais
Official
residence of the French president in rue du Faubourg-Saint
Honoré, Paris since 1873.
coast, about 20 km east of Hyères,
since 13 January 1968.
Château de Rambouillet: Country
residence of the French president and guest
house for visiting heads of
state since 1896, 35 km southwest of Paris in
Yvelines Department.
Château de Versailles, Yvelines
Department: Used for state functions and
houses the presidents of the
French National Assembly and the Senate. On the
grounds is the Pavillon de la Lanterne, an 18th
century secluded hunting lodge
along the road from Versailles
to Saint-Cyr-l'École. It is a favorite hideaway of
the current president and
has served as country home of French prime ministers.
le Domaine de Souzy-la-Briche: Alternate
residence of the French president
since 1978, about 30 km south of
Paris in Essene Department.
Entente
Council of the Entente
formed on 29 May 1959.
Entente#
The
Allies—
ethnic cleansing
Forcible
removal, murder, of an ethnic group and its members from home, territory, and
country by the government or an authority of another group, by all means.
European Economic Area European Free Trade Agreement (EEA EFTA) States
Iceland, Liechtenstein and
Norway
exception culturelle
Cultural exclusion claimed
by
Farnesina
Location
of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in
al-Fatih Revolution
Start of the current Libyan
regime following the overthrow of the monarch on 1 September (al-fatih) 1969.
Fed (The Fed)
Federal Reserve Bank
(System) (USA).
Feds (The Feds)
The
federal government, the federal civil servants (
The
industrialized countries, developed countries.
Five Peoples of
Han,
Manchu, Mongolians, Hui, and Tibetans.
Fleet Street
Location
of most prominent British newspaper and press offices in
Foggy Bottom
Nickname
for the US Department of State referring to its location in a formerly foggy
and swampy area near the Potomac River. See
also Fudge Factory.
Folketing
Danish
parliament in
Four amigos
Leaders
of
Four Dragons
The new
industrial Asian countries of Hong Kong, Korea (ROK),
Four Tigers
Same as
Four Dragons.
Fourth Estate
The
press.
Fragile Five
Financial circle reference
to the five member states of BRICS: Brazil, India, Russia, China, and South
Africa (2014).
friends, the
Informal reference to the
US Central Intelligence Agency, used by British intelligence
.
front bench, front
bencher
Members
of the cabinet or shadow [opposition] cabinet who are seated in the front row
in British and Commonwealth parliaments. See
also back bench.
Front States#
African states opposed to
white South African government and apartheid policy.
Fudge Factory
Nickname
for the US Department of State. See also
Foggy Bottom.
G5+1
The five
permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany conducting nuclear
talks with Iran. See P5+1.
gacaca
Traditional courts in
Gandhi principles of non-violence
Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948)
declared his principles were satya, i.e. truth, and ahimsa, i.e. non-violence. See satyagraha.
Gao kao
Annual
national college entrance examination in
glas’nost’#
Russian
term for openness or transparency. Essential part of policy of
economic and political reforms, first introduced by Mikhail Sergeyevich
Gorbachov on 28 June 1988.
Globalization
Greater
integration of countries into the world economy, internationalism in economy.
Gongo
Government-organized
nongovernmental organization.
green
ecological, environmental
Green Tree Agreement (GTA)
Treaty between Cameroon and
Nigeria concluded on 12 June 2006 at Greentree, New
York, ceding the Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon.
guanxi
Doing business based on
relationships rather than by formal rules (Chinese).
Haga Palace
Official
residence of the Crown Princess of Sweden in Hagaparken,
Solna, Stockholm.
Hallstein Doctrine#
Foreign policy principle expressed by Walter Hallstein,
(1901-1982) Foreign Minister of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) in 1955
not to open or maintain diplomatic relations with any country that
maintains such ties with the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Abandoned in 1972.
Harambee House
Seat of
the President of
Hardthöhe#
Former
location of the German Federal Defense Ministry in
hawala
Network
of informal banking (Arabic).
Final Act on Security and
Cooperation in Review, signed 1975 in Helsinki (CSCE).
Regular
review of arms control, human rights, environment and other issues (CSCE).
hibakusha
Survivor of 1945
Hindutva
The
Hofburg
Seat of
Austrian president in
Holyrood Palace
Residence
of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Holy See (The Holy See)
The
Hôtel de Lassay
Residence of the
President of the French National Assembly on the rue de l’Université
in Paris.
Residence
of the President of the
Huis ten Bosch
Royal
Dutch residence in
hukou
Household registration
system in
Hural
The
legislature of
Seat of
the President of Madagascar, located 15 km south of
indigenous people
Descendants of those who
inhabited land which was then taken over by people from a different ethnic
origin (UN definition).
Inner Line (
Established
by the British in 1873 inside the external northern border beneath the
foothills of the
Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC)
Standard used by the United
Nations (UN) to classify levels of food insecurity:
1 Generally food secure;
2 Moderately/borderline food insecure;
3 Acute food and livelihood crisis;
4 Humanitarian
emergency—severe lack of food access, death due to hunger, malnutrition and
irreversible livestock asset stripping;
5 Famine
or humanitarian catastrophe—complete lack of food access and mass starvation,
death, and displacement.
l’intégrisme
French term for integrationism, used especially in
intifada
Palestinian
uprising against Israeli occupation (9 December 1987-September 1993, September
2000-current al-Aqsa intifada).
Iron Curtain#
The
physical dividing line between the former Soviet Union and its European
satellite states first so described by Winston Churchill (1874-1965) in a
speech on 5 March 1946 in
Islamism
Islamic
movement to reestablish the Caliphate or an Islamic polity.
Itamarati
Brazilian foreign ministry
and foreign service (named after its former palace
location in
Ittalaat
Iranian
intelligence service.
Official
residence of the Egyptian president in
Official
residence of the Brazilian vice president in Brasília.
al-Janadriyah Farm
Arabian horse farm and
country retreat of the king of Saudi Arabia, located at al-Janadriyah,
45 km outside Riyadh.
Jatiya Sangsad
Parliament
of
Jogorku Kenesh
Parliament
of
Kantei
Office of
the Japanese prime minister.
Kanzlerbungalow (Chancellor Bungalow)#
Former
residence of the Federal Chancellor of Germany in Bonn (1963-1998).
karo-kari, also siyah-kari
Code of
honor killing (
karoshi
Death
from overwork (Japanese).
keiretsu
Network of subcontractors
and suppliers of a larger enterprise, usually fully or partially owned
(Japanese).
Khokimat
Executive
at regional, district and city level (
kifaya
Enough”
(Arabic), the slogan of an Egyptian movement protesting the renomination of the
incumbent Egyptian president for a 5th term of office in 2005.
Kimberley
Process
The process to certify the origin of rough diamonds
which were not mined in areas of rebel movements—mainly in Africa, to fund
human rights abuses and wars, the so-called blood
diamonds. The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) was established by
the United Nations in 2003
kisanja
Campaign
in
Knesset
Israeli
parliament in
Kokkai
Japanese Diet in
koutla
Bloc, coalition (Arabic)
Krasnopresnensakaya Naberezhnaya
Seat of
Soviet Council of Ministers in
Kremlin, Kreml
Seat of
the Russian (formerly Soviet) government in
kuchi
Nomads of
Afghanistan.
Kuk Hoe
Korean
National Assembly in
Kultaranta
A granite
castle completed in 1916 which serves as summer residence of the President of
Finland.
Located near Naantali, Varsinais-Sumi Region (Southwest Finland) on the opposite
side of Naantalinlahti Bay.
Kumsusan Palace of the Sun
Mausoleum
of the ‘eternal’ leaders of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) in
Pyongyang.
Kurdistan
Homeland
of the Kurds.
laïcité
Concept
of secularism, separation of religion and state (French).
Reference to Lahore Declaration
of 21 February 1999 issued following meeting between Indian and Pakistani prime
ministers in
Lány Chateau
Summer
residence of the President of the Czech Republic in Lány,
Kladno District.
laojiao (China)
Non-judicial system of
punishment of reeducation through forced labor.
Linkana Palace
Royal
palace in Thimphu, Bhutan.
Livadia Palace
Summer retreat of the
Russian tsar near Yalta, Crimea, Ukraine, and used for official meetings.
Lokayukta
Anti-corruption
ombudsman in states of India.
Lok Sabha
Indian
parliament (lower house) in
Informal
forum of major international commercial banks, used primarily for private debt
rescheduling. Founded in 1976.
Official
residence of the Uruguayan president in Ascunción.
Lubyanka#
Building located at 2 Dzerzhinskogo plan in
Ludzidzini
Royal
village of the Swazi king, 20 km east of the capital of Mbane.
luoguan
“Naked officials,” term
used in the People’s Republic of China to describe officials who family members
have emigrated.
Maghreb
Arabic for “west”; also
refers to the western North African region consisting of
Majles
Iranian
parliament in
majlis
Council,
assembly (Arabic).
Majlis al-Shaab
Egyptian
parliament in Cairo (i.e., people’s council, Arabic).
Malacañang Palace
Official
residence of the Philippine president in Manila.
Mariinsky Palace
Official
residence of the Ukrainian president on Grushevs’kogo
Mikhayla Boulevard in Kyiv.
maslikhat (Kazakhstan)
Local
council.
Maashiq Palace
Presidential residence in
the former People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY) (South Yemen) in Aden
mass line (qunzhong luxian, Chinese)
Leadership
method of the Communist Party of China (CPC) by Mao Zedong. One-year “mass line”
campaign started in June 2013 under Xi Jinping to clean up four undesirable
work styles: formalism, bureaucracy, hedonism, and extravagance
Matignon
Official
residence of the French prime minister in Paris. At the end of its park,
with a separate entrance, lies le Pavillon de musique, a hideaway
used for discreet talks.
"Helvetica" Hôtel de Marigny: Official guest house of the French government in
Paris.
McMahon Line
Boundary
line drawn between British India and Tibet by British Captain Henry McMahon in
1916 but never accepted by a Chinese government.
Merdeka Palace (Istana Merdeka)
Residence
of the President of Indonesia in Jakarta. Known as Koningsplein Palace until 1945 in former Batavia.
Middle East Quartet
Initiative started by
representatives of the United Nations, European Union, Russian Federation, and
the United States of America on 25 October 2001 to obtain a ceasefire after the
outbreak of the 2nd Palestinian intifada in September 2000 and
continuing attempts to secure a peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict.
Minsk Group
Organization on Security
and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) group set up to settle disputes between states
of the former Soviet Union—the Minsk process.
Minsk process
Process
of the Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to settle
disputes between states of the former Soviet Union, such as Nagorno-Karabakh.
Miraflores Palace
Official
residence of the President of Venezuela in Caracas.
mohajir
Indian Muslims who fled to
Pakistan at the time of the partition in 1947, i.e., refugee (Urdu).
Moncloa, la
Seat of
the Spanish government in Madrid.
Moneda, la
Official
residence of the Chilean president in Santiago.
mottaindi
Japanese
ethic of waste not (Japanese).
moudawana
Family
code (Morocco).
most favorite
nation (MFN) clause
Obligation
of a country to grant all advantages in commerce and trade to another country.
muhasa
Much criticized quota-based
ethnic political system in Iraq, introduced by the United States 2003.
mujahedeen, mujaheddin
Combatant,
fighter (Arabic).
mukhabarat
Secret police, intelligence
service (Arabic).
murshid
The
leader or Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood (al-Ikhwan
al-Muslimin) in Egypt.
mutawwa’in
Morality
or religious police in Saudi Arabia.
naqba, nakba
Arab
Palestinian term describing the day before the establishment of the State of
Israel (14 May 1948) and consequent loss of their territories (Calamity in
Arabic).
Narayanhity Palace
Royal
palace of the King of Nepal in Kathmandu.
Nationalrat
Austrian and Swiss
parliament (lower house).
NATO Ministerial Guidance
Issued by
defense ministers of member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO) every two years at the regular spring meeting.
Near Abroad
Russian
reference to the 14 non-Russian republics succeeding the former constituent
Soviet Socialist Republics of the Soviet Union.
New World Order#
Vision of the post-Cold War
world expressed by US President George Bush on 7 March 1991.
Normandy Four
Representatives
of France, Germany, Russia, and Ukraine to resolve the conflict in the eastern
region of Donbass, Ukraine (since 6 June 2014). Also Norman format, Norman Quartet
Norman format, Quartet
Talks
about implementing Minsk agreement on Ukraine by France, Germany, Russia, and
Ukraine.
Northern Triangle [of Central America]
El
Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.
Novo-Ogaryovo
Manor located 30 minutes
west of Moscow in Krylatskoe district by the Rublyovo-Uspenskoye Highway. It serves as official
residence of the Russian president.
One Belt, One Road, see Silk Road Economic Belt
Orange Revolution
Reference
to use of orange as an identifying color of pro-democracy forces in Ukraine who
demonstrated for and elected Viktor Yushchenko
President in December 2004.
Országgyülés
Hungarian
National Assembly in Budapest.
Oslo Agreement
Following secret
negotiations in Oslo between Israeli and Palestine Arab representatives, aided
by Norway, on 9 September 1993, Israel recognized the Palestine Liberation
Organization (PLO) as the Palestine representative and the PLO accepted the
right of Israel to exist.
ozodi
Independence (Central Asian
Republics).
P5+1
The five
permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany (2006).
Pacific Rim countries
China,
Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea (ROK), Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore,
Taiwan (ROC), and Thailand.
Palácio de Belém
Residence
of the President of Portugal on Calcada da Ajuda in Lisbon.
Palacio Miraflores
Official
residence of the Venezuelan president in Caracas.
Palacio Moncloa
Official
residence of the Spanish prime minister in Madrid.
Palacio Narino
Official
residence of the Colombian president in Bogotá.
Palacio Quemado (Burnt Palace)
Traditional residence of
the President of Bolivia in La Paz
Palais Bourbon
Building
housing the French National Assembly in Paris.
Palais Schaumburg#
Former
official residence of the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany
in Bonn.
Palazzo Chigi
Residence
of Italian prime minister in Rome.
Palazzo Montecitorio
Building
housing the Chamber of Deputies in Rome.
Panch Sheel
Five
principles of peaceful coexistence (India). Agreed to by China and
India concerning Chinese sovereignty in Tibet on 20 April 1954:
(1) Mutual respect for each other’s territorial integrity
and sovereignty;
(2)
Mutual non-aggression;
(3)
Mutual non-interference in each other’s internal affairs;
(4)
Equality and mutual benefit; and
(5)
Peaceful coexistence.
Peace Palace
Home of
the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, Netherlands.
Peacock Throne#
Reference
to the Shah of Iran before 1979.
Pentagon
Building
housing the US Defense Department in Arlington VA.
perestroika#
Russian
term for restructuring. Essential part of policy of economic and political
reforms, first introduced by Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachov in 1985.
Phoenix Park
Location
of the official residence of Ireland’s president in Dublin.
pink
See red.
Pink Revolution
Reference to use of pink as
an identifying color of anti-government voters in Georgia who demonstrated successfully against President Edvard Shevardnadze and ousted him from office in November
2003.
Piños, los
Official
residence of the Mexican president in Mexico City.
Place Vendôme
Location
of the French justice ministry in Paris.
Planalto Palace
Official
residence of the Brazilian president in Brasília.
political violence
Use or
threat of physical harm in political conflicts.
Prague Spring#
Period of democratizing
socialism or practicing “socialism with a human face” between January and 20
August 1968 when Soviet and Warsaw Pact forces invade the Czecho-Slovak
Socialist Republic (CSSR) to suppress the reform movement and arrest its
leaders.
Pretoria Mansion
Official
residence of the South African president in Pretoria.
rime Minister’s Questions
British
parliamentary tradition of providing members of the House of Commons an
opportunity on every Wednesday in session at noon to pose questions to the
Prime Minister.
Puzzle Palace
Nickname
for the US Defense Department in the Pentagon building.
Quad
Indo-Pacific
regional consulting group of senior officials of Australia, India, Japan and
the United States of America since 12 March 2021.
Quaid-i-Azam
The great
leader of Pakistan, i.e. Mohammad Ali Jinnah (1876-1948).
Quai d’Orsay
French
foreign ministry in Paris.
Quanguo Renmin Daibiao Dahui
National People’s Congress
of China in Beijing.
Quartet
Contemporary group working
to obtain peace in the Near East: European Union (EU), Russia, United Nations
(UN), and the United States of America (USA).
Quirinale
Official
residence of the Italian president in Rome.
Raghadan Palace
Royal
palace of the King of Jordan in Amman.
Rashtrapati Bhavan
Official
residence of the Indian president on top of Raisina
Hill in New Delhi since 1950. Formerly known as [British]
Viceroy’s House since 1931.
raskol (Papua New Guinea)
Urban youth gang
red
Communist,
social-democratic, socialist, left-wing, also pink; see also Red states (US).
Red Chamber
The
Senate of Canada.
Red states
US states in which citizens
vote predominantly for the Republican Party; see also Blue states.
Republika Srpska
Serbian
Republic (in Bosnia and Herzegovina).
Repelita
Indonesian five
year-development plan (1st: 1960/70-1973/74).
Rideau Hall
Officially Government House
in Ottawa serves as seat of Canada’s monarch (Queen of the United Kingdom) and
her representative, the Governor General of Canada.
Riksdag
Swedish
parliament in Stockholm.
Roadmap to Peace
Plan for a final and
comprehensive settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict developed by the
Quartet and presented to Israel and Palestine on 30 April 2003. The plan has
clear phases, timelines, and benchmarks and involves reciprocal steps by the
two parties in the political, security, economic, and humanitarian fields.
rogue countries#
US Government term used for
Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea, and Syria. Term changed to “countries of
concern.” See also “Axis of Evil.”
rohingyas
Burmese
Muslims.
Rosenbad
Official
residence of the Prime Minister of Sweden in Stockholm.
Saeima
Parliament
of Latvia in Riga.
Sagerska hus
Office of
the Swedish prime minister in Stockholm.
Sahel
West African countries
located at the edge of the Sahara desert (“edge” Arabic).
Sahrawi
Saharan
native.
SAMOA Pathway
SIDS [small island
developing states] Accelerated Modalities of Action, adopted 1-4 September
2014 in Apia by the third International
Conference on Small Island Developing States, to achieve sustainable
development.
Sanaa Coalition
Group formed by Ethiopia,
Sudan, and Yemen in 2003 to strengthen relations among the three countries.
satyagraha
Non-violent resistance as
advocated by Mahatma Gandhi. See Gandhi
principles of non-violence.
Second World
The
former communist countries of Europe, Asia and Cuba.
Sejm
Polish lower house of
parliament in Warsaw.
Seven Sisters#
The most important
international oil companies: British Petroleum, Chevron, Exxon, Gulf, Mobil,
Shell, and Texaco. Now the Four Sisters.
Shaab Palace, al-
People’s Palace in Damascus
(Arabic).
shahid
Iranian
Revolutionary Guard (Farsi).
Shanghai Five
The founders of the
Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO): China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia,
and Tajikistan.
Shangri-La Dialog
Reference to Asia Security
Summits
Sheetal Niwas
Official residence of the
President of Nepal in Kathmandu
Shugi-in
Japanese
House of Representatives in Tokyo.
Silk Road Economic Belt
Initiative of the People’s Republic of China of
September 2013 to revive the old Silk Road to connect with Eurasia to advance investment
and trade. Also Belt and Road or
One Belt, One Road.
Sirte I, II
I: Declaration made by the
Organization of African Unity (OAU, meeting in September 1999 in Sirte, Libya,
to establish the African Union (AU).
II: Declaration of founding of the African Union (AU) on
2 March 2001 in Sirte.
Sixteen-plus-One#
The 16
NATO nations and Russia.
Slavic Four
Informal
reference to Belarus, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine.
Smolenskaya Square
Location
of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Moscow.
sovereignty
Customary criteria for
sovereign statehood:
(1) territory,
(2) population,
(3) recognition of treaty
obligations, and
(4) control over territory and
population.
Stockholm process
International year-long
effort initiated by the Swedish government to suggest ways to strengthen the
capacity to implement targeted sanctions by the United States and member
states.
Stormont
Stormont
Castle in Belfast serving as seat of the administration of the British
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
Storting
Norwegian
parliament in Oslo.
Straka Academy (Strakova akademie)
Seat of government of the Czech Republic on the
left bank of Vlatava River on Malá
Strana in Prague.
Sublime Porte#
The
Ottoman Empire and its government in Constantinople. Reference
to the “gate of Felicity” (Bâbüssaâde) of Topkapi Palace.
Superpowers
Soviet Union and the United
States of America (1945-1990).
Taikonaut
Space person, i.e.,
astronaut (Chinese)
Taoiseach
The Prime
Minister of Ireland.
Third World
The less developed
countries.
“Three Don’ts”#
Admonition of Hu Jintao,
President of China, made on 18 December 2008 “As long as we don’t waver, don’t
slack off, and don’t get sidetracked (bu zheteng), and as long as we firmly push forward reform and
opening up … we are certain to be able to successfully realize this grand
blueprint [of the reform] and achieve the goals we are striving for.”
"Three Represents” (san ge dai biao)#
Current
official Chinese doctrine to harmonize Marxism with the free market. Enunciated
by former President and Part General Secretary Jiang Zemin in February 2000.
The Chinese Communist Party (CPC) must (1) Represent the most advanced
productive forces, including private business; (2) Represent the most advanced
culture; and (3) Represent fundamental interest of the broad masses, not only a
revolutionary party.
trade rounds
International meetings to
prepare and agree on tariffs and rules of dispute settlement and trade which
led to approval of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1947
and the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1975:
1st round/Geneva Round 1947
in Geneva (12 countries)
2nd round 1949
in Annecy, France (13 countries)
3rd round 1951
in Torquay, UK (38 countries)
4th round/Geneva Round 1956
in Geneva (26 countries)
5th round/Dillon Round 1960-1961
in Geneva (26 countries)
6th round/Kennedy Round 1964-1967
in Geneva (62 countries)
7th round/Tokyo Round 1973-1979
in Geneva (102 countries)
8th round/Uruguay Round 1986-1994
in Geneva (123 countries)
9th round/Doha Round 2002-2015
in Doha, Qatar (144 countries) (failed)
tucano
Tropical
colorful American fruit-eating bird (Portuguese, Tupi). Used in
Brazil to refer to a member of the Brazilian Social Democratic Party (PSDB).
Two-plus-Four#
The Big
Four, the Federal Republic of Germany and the former German Democratic Republic
[German reunification].
Troika
Informal
group of foreign ministers of current, previous, and future presiding
governments in the European Union.
Tuynhuys
Former
residence of governors of the Cape Colony which became the official residence
of the South African President in Cape Town.
Ukimet Uiy
House of
Government in Astana.
uklad
Agreement
or pact, also network or system. Frequently used by current Polish government
leaders to identify the “enemy”: Former communists and secret service officials
but also some members of the liberal elite as well as businessmen (Polish).
Velvet Revolution#
Bloodless and peaceful
student demonstrations in Prague on 17 November 1989 force the communist
leadership to resign. End of the communist regime in Czechoslovakia.
Vergangenheitsbewältigung
German
term to describe effort to cope and face up to Germany’s criminal acts under
its Nazi government.
Verkhovna Rada
Parliament
of Ukraine in Kiev.
Vietnam syndrome
Normally
used to describe reluctance to intervene in foreign conflicts shown by
Americans as a result of the disappointment over the outcome of the Viet Nam
War.
Villa Hammerschmidt#
Former
residence of the Federal President of Germany in Bonn (1949-1994).
Vouli ton Ellinon
Greek
Chamber of Deputies in Athens.
Wall, the
Reference
to the former Berlin Wall (see entry)
and to the wall erected by Israel separating it from Palestine.
Wall Street
New York
financial district.
Weimar Triangle
Informal
cooperation incl. summit meetings, between France, Germany, and Poland.
Westminster
British Parliament in
London.
White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Official residence of the
American president at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington DC. The Oval Office
is the office of the American president in the West Wing of the White House.
Blair House: Official guest house of the American
president, located on
Pennsylvania Avenue, across from the White House.
Camp
David: Official retreat of the American president located near Thurmont,
Maryland.
Mt Weather: Alternate
secure underground location for indispensable
and top officials to insure continuity of government (COG) in case of
attack or natural disaster at Berryville, Virginia, about 48 miles west of the
capital. Currently used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Whitehall
Main offices of the British
government in London.
10 Downing Street: Official
residence of the British prime minister and place of cabinet meetings in
London.
Chequers: Country home of the British prime minister in
Buckinghamshire since 1921.
White House
Seat and official residence
of the President of the United States of America at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
NW, Washington, District of Columbia (DC) 20500.
White House Situation Room (WHSR)
The US national nerve
center is located in the West Basement of The White House. It contains a
soundproof conference room surrounded on three sides by two small offices,
multiple work stations, computers and communications equipment. Staff is
composed of approximately 30 personnel, organized around five Watch Teams
monitoring international events around the clock. The Situation Room was
established by the president after the Cuban Bay of Pigs operation in 1961.
(Source: Inside The White House Situation Room, by Michael Donley, Cornelius
O’Leary and John Montgomery. Washington DC: Studies in Intelligence, May 1997,
pp. 7-13.)
Wilhelmstrasse#
Location of German Foreign
Office in Berlin before 1933. The Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of
Germany is located at Werderscher Markt
1, 10117 Berlin.
World Economic Forum (WEF)
Week-long economic
discussion held annually (January/February) in Davos Switzerland and attended
by prominent political and economic world leaders. Founded in 1970 by Professor
Klaus Schwab of Geneva.
World Risk Index (WRI)
Disaster risk index
launched by the UN University Institute for Environment and Human Security in
Bonn, Germany, in September 2011 defining risk as the interaction between a
natural hazard and the vulnerability of a community. Based on four components
and 28 variables:
1 Exposure to a natural hazard;
2 Susceptibility (i.e., likelihood of damage to economic,
infrastructure, nutrition,
and
housing conditions);
3 Capacity to cope (state of governance, disaster preparedness,
early warning
systems, medical services, and social and
material security levels);
4 Adaption strategies.
xiaokang
Originally the concept of
an ideal society that provides well for its citizens. Adopted by Deng Xiaoping
as “a thousand consumers bloom,” the beginning of economic liberalization
(Chinese).
Yang di-Peruan Agong
Malaysian head of state
elected from hereditary rulers of 13 states.
yellow
In Europe, a liberal party
or a member thereof.
Zarzuela Palace
Preferred residence
of the Spanish king, located outside Madrid near the El Pardo Mountains, about
8 km northwest of the center of the capital.
Zhongnanhai
Headquarters of the central
government and residence of the Communist party leader in Beijing.
zhuz
Clan, horde (Kazakhstan)
Notes
# No longer in existence.
Names of official
residences are included because of their frequent use as synonyms for certain
governments and their officials (e.g., Quai d’Orsay for the French foreign
ministry in Paris).
Sources: Government and press announcements, IO database, Le Point, United Nations (UN).
Completion: Includes information dated 25 January 2022 or earlier. Completed in
January 2022.
(Replacing International and Political Terms,
Global Survey, Vol. 49, No. 508, November 2019, 20 pp.)
8Q
♦
Published by The International Observer of Washington DC USA