Common
Agricultural Policy.Came into operation inside the EEC in the late 60s.
(French : PAC : Politique Agricole Commune).
CBD
Central
Business District. The heart of the city, where the financial and business
are. In French: centre des affaires.
CENTO
Central
Treaty Organisation, ratified in 1955 by Syria, Turkey, Iran and Pakistan.
COMINTERN
Short for
Communist International, also called the Third International. It was created
by Lenin in 1919 to help Communist parties all over the world to organise
revolutions. It lasted until 1943, and replaced by the Cominform. (French
: Komintern - Kominform)..
ECSC
European
Coal and Steel Community. Formed in 1951 (Treaty of Paris) by six European
countries: Germany, Italy, France and the three countries of Benelux (Belgium,
the Netherlands and Luxembourg.It was the first supranational authority,
which was in charge to create a kinf of common-market for steel and coal,
in order to improve their trade. (French : CECA)
EDC
European
Defence Community. Suggested by the French government, it aimed to create
a combined European army between the members of the ECSC. The five other
members agree, but the project was refused by French Parliament.
GDP
Gross Dopmestic
Product: the total value of all goods and services produced in a country
over the year. It's an economic measure of the wealth of a country, but
give no indication about its human development.
GNP
Gross National
Product: the total value of GDP plus profits from investments abroad. The
GNP is also an economic measure, with no indication on human development.
HDI
Human Development
Index : In 1990, the United Nations pointed out that GDP and GNP were no
use to measure the repartition of wealth within a country. They settled
the HDI which consists of three aspects of development : real income per
capita, adult literacy and life expectancy at birth.The HDI varies between
0 and 1. The closer to 1 the score is, the better the level of human development.
(French : IDH)
HQ
Head Quarter
IMF
International
Monetary Fund. International financial institution that was set up following
the Bretton Woods Conference of 1944. Its first aim was to promote the increase
of international trade by providing borrowing facilities. It also has a
role of advice, and is criticised for the liberal solutions it proposes.
Nowadays, the IMF is involved in many development projects all over the
world.(French FMI)
LEDCs
Less Economically
Developed Countries. This "Label" is based upon a world split
into two parts , an economically developed North, and an economically developing
South. Most of the LEDCs are situated in Africa.(In French: PED, Pays en
Developpement).
MEDCs
More Economically
Developed Countries. This "Label" is based upon a world split
into two parts , an economically developed North, and an economically developing
South.( In French : PDEM, Pays Developpés à Economie de Marché)).
NAFTA
In January
1994 Canada, the United States and Mexico launched the North American Free
Agreement (NAFTA) and formed one of the world's largest free trade areas.
Designed to foster increased trade and investment among the partners, they
expected the NAFTA to reduce the economic disparities between their countries.
NATO
North Atlantic
Treaty Organisation. Established in 1949, at the beginning of the cold war,
and especially to answer the Berlin blockade. Founder members were Belgium,
Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway,
Portugal UK and USA. It settled a common permanent organisation in order
to establish military but also technologic co-operation between the members.
Greece and West Germany joined later, while France withdrew. (French : OTAN)
NEP
New Economic
Policy. Settled in March 1921 by Lenin. It brought back capitalism and private
property in some sections of Russian economy. As an example, peasants were
allowed to sell surplus grain for profit, rather than giving them to the
state. It was aimed to make production increase.
NGO
Non Governmental
Organisation.Based on non-political and non-commercial principles. They
mostly developed during the 80s. (French ONG)
NICs
Newly Industrialising
Countries. These countries are mostly situated in Asia (Singapore, South
Korea, Taiwan). Brazil Mexico or east China are also considered as NICs.
NKVD
The people
Commissariat of Internal Affairs; It was the state security police created
in 1934 by Stalin to replace the Cheka. The NKVD was chiefly responsible
for the Great Terror of 1934-1939.(in French NKVD).
OECD
Organization
for Economic Co-operation and Development. Created in 1960 to replace the
OEEC. It is an organization in which important economic issued can be discussed.
OEEC
Organization
for European Economic Co-operation. Created in 1948 to co-ordinate the action
of the Marshall aid in Europe. Most of the nations of Western Europe were
represented in its council, to which the USA gave the responsibility of
dividing up the Marshall aid funds. This it did successfully. It was replaced
in 1960 by the OECD.
OPEC
Organization
of Petroleum Exportating Countries. The OPEC is an intergovernmental organization
created at the Baghdad Conference in 1960, which gathers 12 countries :Algeria,
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Gabon, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait,
Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Venezuela).
The members of OPEC are countries in which 30% at least of the goods exportations
are made by petroleum and gas. Their economy is highly dependant on the
evolution of petroleum prices.(In French : OPEP).
PLO
Palestine
Liberation Organisation. Created and leaded since then by Yasser Arafat.
Largest and more influential of the Arab political movements that aim to
re-set an Arab control of Palestine. After having used Terrorist means,
it has renounced to in 1988.
SEATO
South East
Asian Treaty Organisation. Formed in 1954. It's part of the network of anti-Communist
treaties with NATO and CENTO) all around the world set up by the United
States during the cold war. It gathers the USA, Pakistan and Thailand.(in
French : OTASE).
TNCs
Multinational
or Transnational Corporations. Large businesses who often have their HQ
in a MEDC, but have facilities all over the world.
UN
United
Nations. The Basis (Freedom, Democracy) of this International Organisation
were set up by W. Churchill and F.D. Roosevelt during the redaction of the
Atlantic Chart in 1941. It was definitely instituted in 1945 by the San
Francisco Conference. Its head Quarter is situated in New York, and the
five permanent members of the Security Council are the USA, the USSR, China,
France and Great Britain.
WTO
World
Trade Organisation. International Organisation created in 1995, which succeeded
to the GATT. It has to conclude commercial agreements and to look after
their implementation. Its action is controversial because it does not include
all countries and some have more power than others.China is the latest country
to join the WTO in December 2001.(In French OMC, Organisation Mondiale du
Commerce).).