Glossary of terms and acronyms
Authoritarian regimes: An authoritarian regime is a political regime where central power is
very strong and political freedoms are limited or very limited.
Brezhnev Doctrine: A “Doctrine” is a policy, usually designed by the leader(s) of a country
and adopted as the official line to take, usually regarding foreign policy. Brezhnev was leader
of USSR between 1964 and 1982. The Doctrine stated that, the countries of the Soviet bloc
could not leave the Warsaw Pact or liberalise their politics (thus jeopardising domination by
the Communist Party); if a country chose to do so, military intervention was to follow, in order
to safeguard the cohesiveness of the Eastern Bloc. This effectively meant that the countries of
the Eastern Bloc enjoyed, in fact, only limited independence.
Eurogroup: The Eurogroup is the informal governing authority of the EU countries whose
currency is the Euro. It was established as an ‘informal body’ by the Treaty of Lisbon (2009).
It consists of all the Eurozone Ministers of Economy, and is chaired by one of them, periodically
elected.
European Communities: The European Communities were the constitutive parts of the ECC.
They were three organisations (European Economic Community, later renamed European
Community, or EC; European Atomic Energy Community, or EURATOM; European Coal and
Steel Community, or ECSC), governed by the same institutions. The ECSC was created in
1951. The Treaties of Rome created the other two in 1957. The Communities were integrated
as the first pillar of the EU in 1993. In 2002 the ECSC ceased to exist. The EC was dissolved
into the EU in 2009 (Treaty of Lisbon); EURATOM is still a separate organisation, but is
governed by the same EU institutions.
Federal System: A Federal System is a system in which power is shared between a central
authority and constituent political units. Its constituent units (or members) are bound to a
common agreement, and agree to give up some powers to a central authority. Federations
usually have a two-chamber Parliament (one representing the citizens, one the territories or
constituent units); the constituent units often have the same powers and competences (but this
is not always the case). Changes to the Constitution or the Covenant must follow strict
procedures, in order to protect the rights of the constituent units.
Intergovernmental Organisation: An intergovernmental organisation is an institution
consisting of sovereign member States with a common objective and institutionalised
procedures. The organisation itself has no exclusive competence, and all decisions made by
the organisation are made by the members. Each State commands the same decision making
power as the others, regardless of size and population. The United Nations are an
intergovernmental organisation.
Marshall Plan: The Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was an
American initiative to aid Europe, in which the United States gave $13 billion in economic
support to help rebuild Western European economies between 1948-51.
NATO: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is a military alliance which was signed
in 1949 by 12 countries from the Western block. Originated from a Treaty signed by Western
European countries (Treaty of Brussels, 1948), it was formed with a view to build a consistent
military alliance that would allow the USA to have a foothold in Europe while providing Western
Europeans with a structure that would deter Soviet aggression and keep any other potential
rising military power in Europe in check (notably West Germany, which some European
countries viewed with some residual suspicion). It now counts 28 member States. The latest
enlargement took place in 2009 and involved Albania and Croatia.
Political stability: “Stability” does not necessarily mean that there is no conflict, but it does
apply to a situation where no violent action is undertaken to solve conflict. “Political stability”
applies to the political situation of a country, usually seen from an institutional angle. A country
is politically stable if government holds relatively undisputed jurisdiction over its lands; if its
decisions are respected across the country; and if changes to the leadership or form of
government are not caused by upheavals or violent actions. In modern days Europe, countries
are sometimes defined as politically unstable when their governments change frequently (once
or twice a year), even if no violence is involved.
Subprime crisis: The crisis originated in the US in 2007-2008. Suddenly, and to the wider
public’s surprise, 100 mortgage lending companies went bankrupt. What had happened was
that these companies stood on ‘securities’ (basically papers that guaranteed a revenue) whose
supposed value was not matching the real value of the mortgages in the US. But while those
mortgages were gradually paid off, and there were plenty of houses available, the system could
sustain itself. Credit for mortgages was easily given, and consumers were allowed to sign for
loans they could not afford. The housing market was booming, but eventually there were too
many houses and their value decreased. Rates for mortgages payment therefore increased
and people started to fail to pay. This hit the ‘securities’ that mortgage lending companies and
banks had been trading at full value. Once the actual value of these securities fell dramatically,
companies and banks started to go bankrupt.
Three Pillars of the EU: The three pillars of the EU were the constitutive parts of the European
Union between 1993 (Treaty of Maastricht) and 2009. Their purpose was to systematise the
areas where the EU would have competences, those where competence would be shared,
and those where member States would have exclusive competence. With the Treaty of Lisbon
(2009), the structure was reformed, although the distinction between the pillars is sometimes
still referred to, for simplification purposes. The three pillars are: the European Communities;
the Common Foreign and Defence policies; and Justice and Home Affairs. The first pillar was
supranational (EU competence), the other two increasingly intergovernmental (albeit with
some areas where competence was shared).
Warsaw Pact: The Warsaw Pact (formally the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation, and Mutual
Assistance) is a defunct military alliance between the USSR and seven satellite countries of
Eastern Europe. It was signed in 1955 to counterbalance NATO (although the two alliances
never fought against each other). It was dissolved in 1991, six months before the dissolution
of the Soviet Union (USSR) itself.
Sources