Glossary of Scenario Terms

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Browse or search for a term alphabetically by clicking the appropriate letter above, or enter the term below to search all the pages in the glossary.

 

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ABM:  see Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty

 

acid rain: sulfur dioxide from coal burning energy plants reacts with water in the air to form acid rain, which causes environmental damage.

 

agrarian reforms: large landholdings, usually established during colonial periods, are divided and sold or assigned to smaller landholders.

 

Agreed Framework: an agreement signed by North Korea in 1994, and sponsored by the US, Japan, and South Korea. Under the agreement, North Korea agreed to halt its nuclear weapons program. In exchange the sponsoring countries would provide North Korea with two light water nuclear reactors that are less suited to producing material for nuclear weapons. In October 2002 North Korea announced that it had violated the terms of the Agreed Framework by restarting its nuclear weapons program, and it said it considered the agreement nullified.

 

annex: when one country incorporates another territory into itself. For example, in 1990, Iraq invaded and tried to annex Kuwait.

 

Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM): treaty between the US and the former Soviet Union that limited the creation of missile defense systems. The US withdrew from the treaty in 2002, and it is no longer in effect.

 

apolitical: having an aversion for or no interest or involvement in political affairs.

 

apartheid: a policy of separating different races, with one group imposing unfair and discriminatory policies on another.

 

arms control: Agreements that limit the number of type of weapons a country can develop.

 

ASEAN: see Association of Southeast Asian Nations

 

Asian “tigers”: dynamic and rapidly developing economies of East and Southeast Asia.

 

Asian Development Bank: established in August 1967 to promote regional economic cooperation. There are 36 regional members (including China, India, Japan, South Korea, Pakistan, and Vietnam), plus non-regional members including the United States, Canada, France, Germany, and the UK.

 

asset: something that provides a monetary flow to its owner. For example, a building that can be rented out for money by its owner or an account that can earn interest for its owner is an asset.

 

atoll: a coral island consisting of a ring-shaped reef enclosing a lagoon.

 

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN): established in August 1967, to promote regional economic, social, and cultural cooperation among the non-Communist countries of Southeast Asia. Members include: Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.

 

austerity measures: reduced government spending. In order to stabilize LDC economies, many Third World governments are being told by international organizations, such as the IMF, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and other lenders, that they must reduce deficit spending. Generally, austerity measures result in less government support for health, education, and infrastructure, and therefore have important domestic and social implications.

 

authoritarianism: a form of government in which the state wields a large amount of authority, at the expense of individual rights. Often power in authoritarian systems is centered on a small group of leaders.

 

autonomy: a limited form of self-government. US states have a certain degree of autonomy, which allows them to make their own laws regarding local matters. Autonomy does not usually extend to control over foreign affairs.

 

Axis of Evil: a phrase used by US President Bush in his 2002 State of the Union Address, accusing Iraq, Iran and North Korea of being threats to world peace and stability. It has become one of the most-quoted phrases of the Bush presidency.