Download TERM EURO GEO GLOBALIZATION : VOCABULARY

TERM EURO GEO GLOBALIZATION : VOCABULARY
GLOBALIZATION = comprehensive term for the emergence of a global society in which economic, political,
environmental, and cultural events in one part of the world quickly come to have significance for people in
other parts of the world. Globalization is the result of advances in communication, transportation, and
information technologies. It describes the growing economic , political, technological, and cultural linkages that
connect individuals, communities, businesses, and governments around the world.
WORLD OLIGOPOLY = a few countries which are dominant economic, geopolitical and cultural powers. The
members of the Triad.
HUB = a centre in an urban, transport or computer network. Hubs are connected together through several
infrastructures called spokes. A hub airport is a big international airport.
UNESCO = specialized agency of the UN, with headquarters in Paris. Its counterpart in the League of Nations
was the International Committee for Intellectial Cooperation. UNESCO was founded in 1945 and became an
agency of the UN in 1946.
UNDP = United Nations Development Programe. Agency of the UN, established in 1965 to unify the
operations of the Expanded Programe Assistance and the UN Special Fund, which continued as separate
components of UNDP until full unification in 1971. The UNDP is a major source of technical assistance in
developing countries, with most of its grants being in the form of consultants’ services, equipment, and
fellowships for advanced study abroad.
GATT = General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. Former specialized agency of the United Nations. It was
established in 1948 and continued to exist until the end of 1995. Members of GATT were pledged to work
together to reduce tariffs and other barriers to international trade and to eliminate discriminatory treatment in
international commerce.
WTO = World Trade Organization established in 1995 as a result of the final round of the GATT negotiations,
called the Uruguay Round. The WTO is responsible for monitoring national trading policies, handling trade
disputes, and enforcing the GATT agreements.
WORLD BANK = It finances projects in developing countries to lower poverty and shorten the North/South
divide.
IMF = International Monetary Fund, specialized agency of the UN, established in 1945. It was planned at the
Bretton Woods Conference in 1944, and its headquarters are in Washington, DC. The organization, purchases
foreign currencies on application from its members so as to discharge international indebtedness and stabilize
exchange rates.
HIPC = Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) is a group of 39 developing countries with high
levels of poverty and debt overhang which are eligible for special assistance from the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. It provides debt relief and low-interest loans to cancel or
reduce external debt repayments to sustainable levels. To be considered for the initiative, countries
must face an unsustainable debt burden which cannot be managed with traditional means. [1]
NGO = Non-Governmental Organisations : Amnesty international (1 M active members in 150
countries), Greenpeace, Red Cross Doctors without borders.
EU = the European Economic Community was set up n 1957 with the treaty of Rome. It was made up of 6
countries : France, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Italy and the Federal Republic of Germany). Its
main goal was to reach a customs union.
The European Union was created in 1992 with the Maastricht Treaty to replace the EEC.
MERCOSUR = economic and political agreement (founded in 1991) among Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay,
Uruguay, and VenezuelaIts purpose is to promote free trade and the fluid movement of goods, people, and
currency. It is now a full customs union.
APEC = 21 Pacific nations, including the USA and Canada, are members of the Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC), which was established in 1989 to provide a forum for discussion on a brad range of
economic issues, to encourage economic cooperation, and to promote trade among the market-oriented
economies of the region. A permanent secretariat was established in Singapore in 1993. In the 1994 Bogor
(Indonesia) Declaration APEC members agrred to established a free-trade zone over a 26-Year period.
NAFTA = (ALENA)Accord establishing a free-trade zone in North America ; it was signed in 1992 by Canada,
Mexico and the USA and took eeffect on Jan. 1, 1994. NAFTA immediately lifted tariffs on the majority of
goods produced by the signatory nations. It also calls for the gradual elimination, over a period of 15 years, of
most remaining barriers to cross-border investment and to the movement of goods and
services among the 3 countries. Major industries affected include agriculture, automobile and textile
manufacture, telecommunications, financial services, energy and trucking.
ASEAN = The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is a geo-political and economic organization of ten
countries located in Southeast Asia, which was formed on 8 August 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the
Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.[9] Since then, membership has expanded to include Brunei, Burma
(Myanmar), Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. Its aims include accelerating economic growth, social progress,
cultural development among its members, protection of regional peace and stability, and opportunities for
member countries to discuss differences peacefully.
NATO = established under the North Atlantic Treaty (Apr. 4, 1949) by Belgium, Canade, Denmark, Great
Britain, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal,and the United States. Today there are
19 members. The treaty, one of the major Western countermeasures against the threat of aggression by the
Soviet Union during the Cold War, was aimed at safeguarding the freedom of the North Atlantic community.
MNF = Multinational Firm , MNC = Multinational Corporation /TNC Transnational Corporation = a
company which manges production or delivers services in at least 2 countries.
DIASPORA = A dispersion of a people, language or culture that was formerly concentrated in one place.
GDP = Gross Domestic Product. The total value of goods and services produced in a country over a period
of time.
GNP = Gross National Product. Term in economics used to describe in monetary value the total annual flow
of goods and services in the economy of a nation.
HDI = Human Development Index. Indicator used by the UNDP since 1990. It takes into account
people’school level, life expectancy and the income per inhabitants. The ersults are always expressed with
figures from 0 to 1.
HPI = Human Poverty Index. Indicator used by the UNDP since 1997. It takes into account people’s school
level, life expectancy and their possible access to health services.
TRIAD = the 3 main economic hubs and great political centres : North America, Western Europe, the Far-East
with Japan.
EMERGENT COUNTRY = developing country which has a significant economy growth thanks to economic
liberalization and foreign capitals.
LEDC = Less Economically Developed Countries or the South
MEDC = A More Economically Developed Country= a rich country = a country located to the North.
METROPOLISATION = complex process which strengthens the urban networks’biggest cities. It contributes to
the concentration of pop and strategic activities in urban centres.
URBANISATION = the social progress whereby a rural area turns into an urban area with the birth of a town
or an urban sprawl.
METROPOLIS = city at the top of a national or international urban network, with worldwide polarization power.
MEGALOPOLIS = Important urban area with numerous cities. Expression used for the firts time by J.
Gottmann to describe the American North-east from Boston to Washington. The Japanese megalopolis
sprawls from Tokyo to Kita Kyushu. The European magalopolis sprawls from London to Northern Italy.
GLOBAL CITY= the latest form of metropolization and world centrality in the context of globalization. A few
metropolises are defined as global cities, e.g. New York, London or Tokyo.
CBD = Central Business District. All the economic activities are concentrated there (head offices, banks,
insurance companies...)
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT = human and economic development that meets the needs of the present
(industry, agriculture, improvements) without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own
needs.
Last but not least : IGO, UNHCR, WHO, FAO, UNICEF, International Division of Labour, BRIC, G8, New
Industrialised countries, Oil Producing countries, Tigers, Dragons, Less Advanced countries.....