League of Nations an international peacekeeping organization formed after World War I; it dissolved in 1946, following World War II.
legate an emissary of the pope.
minister a diplomatic representative ranking second to an ambassador.
Monroe Doctrine U.S. militarily enforced policy of closing off the unsettled portions of North and South America in 1823 to any colonization attempts by Europe.
most favored nation a country granted normal status by the United States, thereby allowing the same advantageous trade rights and privileges in trading with the U.S. as granted to other preferred countries. Also, most-favored-nation, as an adjective; of or relating to this status.
NAFTA North American Free Trade Agreement; agreement signed in 1994 to relax trade restrictions and eliminate tariffs between the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization; a military alliance formed in 1949 with the United States and several European nations to provide mutual protection against outside aggression, particularly from the Soviet Union, now having 19 member nations working together in peacekeeping and defense missions.
naturalization the process or certification of becoming a legal citizen of a foreign country.
nonaligned nation any nation that is not an ally of any superpower nation.
OPEC Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries; an alliance of oil-producing nations that works to set production limits, prices, etc., of petroleum.
plenipotentiary any diplomat who may rank below ambassador but may be, nevertheless, vested with complete authority.
protocol diplomatic rules of etiquette, ceremony, and procedure.
al-Qaeda a worldwide ring of militant Islamic organizations working together to undermine Western influence in the Middle East, best known for its attack of the United States on September 11, 2001, when jet aircraft were hijacked and rammed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon outside Washington, D.C.
refugee one fleeing from his homeland to another country, due to economic or political strife, or war.
rogue nation any country that sponsors terrorism and has weapons of mass destruction.
saber rattling the subtle threatening of one nation toward another nation through a show of force or demonstration of power.
sanction a penalty levied on a nation that has violated international law.
secretary-general an executive officer of the United Nations.
secretary of state the head of U.S. foreign affairs.
Security Council peacekeeping council of the United Nations, with members who are frequently rotated.
shuttle diplomacy diplomacy conducted by an official traveling back and forth between nations.
sovereignty self-government; independence from the rule of another nation.
State Department the U.S. office of foreign affairs.
statesman a politician with broad, international appeal and respect who is called on to handle delicate foreign affairs.
state terrorism any terrorist acts conducted or sponsored by a government.
suicide bomber one who straps bombs to himself or herself and blows up a group of people or a building, such as a government facility, to further a militant cause.
summit an international conference of the highest- ranking government officials.
superpower any nation with exceptional political, economic, and military clout.
Taliban a radical Islamic group that ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 and, after removal by military forces, continued to disrupt the new Afghan government and additionally worked to take over a portion of Pakistan, specifically the Swat Valley, in 2009. The group is most notorious for implementing a severe form of sharia, law that forbids women from being educated and, among other proscriptions, bans television, movies, dancing, kite flying, and beard trimming.
tariff a government-imposed tax on an imported good.
territorial waters waters falling within a state's jurisdiction, specifically within 3 miles, or 4.8 kilometers, from shore.
third world the poor or developing nations of Asia, Africa, and Central and South America.
trade balance an equal or near-equal ratio between nations of imports to exports.
treaty a legal agreement between two nations, usually concerning the maintenance of peace and trade.
United Nations an international organization formed after World War II to seek peaceful solutions to conflicts and to facilitate trade, cultural, and humanitarian exchanges between nations.
warsaw Pact also known as the Warsaw Treaty Organization, an alliance formed by Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and the Soviet Union in 1955 for mutual protection against NATO and democratic expansion, dissolved in 1991.
publishing and journalism
Afghanistanism journalist's term for the avoiding of local controversy by focusing news coverage on distant lands.
allege one of the most frequently used hedge words of journalists who wish to avoid being sued for libel. See Lindley rule.
angle a story's point of view or perspective. AP Associated Press.
blacksmith an uninspired but industrious reporter who simply pounds out stories day after day.
blue-pencil to edit; to make corrections in a manuscript.
bogus fillers or stock features to be replaced by hard news in a later edition of a daily newspaper.
boil down to condense a story.
bootjacking the hawking of newspapers on the street. break where a newspaper story stops on one page to be continued on another page.
bright a brief, light human-interest story.
bulldog the early edition of a daily newspaper, usually printed the night before.
bullpup the first edition of a Sunday newspaper, a portion of which may be printed well before Sunday.
bury a story to place a story on an inner page of a newspaper.
byline the reporter's name, which appears above the beginning of a story.
canned copy press releases, publicity releases, features from syndicates—any prewritten material. Also known as A-copy or handouts.
circulation the average number of copies of a newspaper or magazine sold in a given period.
city editor the newspaper editor who covers city news; he or she works in the city room.
clean highly polished and needing little or no editing.
cold dope statistics.
colored story a biased or slanted piece of reporting.
comma chaser slang for a copy editor.
copy any written or illustrated material to be printed.
copyboy/copygirl one who runs errands; a gofer in a newsroom.
copy editor the editor who checks for style, grammar, and other errors, and makes corrections in manuscripts for the printer.
correspondent a reporter who sends in news stories from remote locations.
crusade a journalist's dedicated effort to expose some wrongdoing, such as government corruption.