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Country Associations
Groups of country, countries or regions are often referred to by a single term (word, phrase, or abbreviation). The origins of such terms include political alliances, intergovernmental organizations, business market areas, and mere colloquialism. A * AMEA: Asia, Middle East and Africa * America (AMER or AMERS): Usage varies; it may refer to just the United States of America, or just North America, or all of Americas, North and South America combined, or some other combination. * AMS: Andorra, Monaco, San Marino * Andean Community (Spanish: Comunidad Andina or CAN): Free trade area consisting of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. * ANZ: Australia and New Zealand * ANZIT: Australia-New Zealand-Italy Trilateral relations * ANZUK: trilateral relations between Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. * Asia-Pacific, APAC: Asia-Pacific * Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is a forum for 21st Pacific Rim member economies that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the country of Wales is a component of a multi-part sovereign state, the United Kingdom. A country may be a historically sovereign area (such as Korea), a currently sovereign territory with a unified government (such as Senegal), or a non-sovereign geographic region associated with certain distinct political, ethnic, or cultural characteristics (such as the Basque Country). The definition and usage of the word "country" is flexible and has changed over time. ''The Economist'' wrote in 2010 that "any attempt to find a clear definition of a country soon runs into a thicket of exceptions and anomalies." Most sovereign states, but not all countries, are members of the United Nations. The largest country by area is Russia, while the smallest is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by area in Oceania and the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, sixth-largest country. Australia is the oldest, flattest, and driest inhabited continent, with the least fertile soils. It is a Megadiverse countries, megadiverse country, and its size gives it a wide variety of landscapes and climates, with Deserts of Australia, deserts in the centre, tropical Forests of Australia, rainforests in the north-east, and List of mountains in Australia, mountain ranges in the south-east. The ancestors of Aboriginal Australians began arriving from south east Asia approximately Early human migrations#Nearby Oceania, 65,000 years ago, during the Last Glacial Period, last i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Semi-presidential System
A semi-presidential republic, is a republic in which a president exists alongside a prime minister and a cabinet, with the latter two being responsible to the legislature of the state. It differs from a parliamentary republic in that it has a popularly elected head of state and from the presidential system in that the cabinet, although named by the president, is responsible to the legislature, which may force the cabinet to resign through a motion of no confidence. While the Weimar Republic (1919–1933) and Finland (from 1919 to 2000) exemplified early semi-presidential systems, the term "semi-presidential" was first introduced in 1959 in an article by journalist Hubert Beuve-Méry, and popularized by a 1978 work written by political scientist Maurice Duverger, both of whom intended to describe the French Fifth Republic (established in 1958). Definition Maurice Duverger's original definition of semi-presidentialism stated that the president had to be elected, possess signi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parliamentary Republic
A parliamentary republic is a republic that operates under a parliamentary system of government where the executive branch (the government) derives its legitimacy from and is accountable to the legislature (the parliament). There are a number of variations of parliamentary republics. Most have a clear differentiation between the head of government and the head of state, with the head of government holding real power, much like constitutional monarchies (however in some countries the head of state, regardless of whether the country's system is a parliamentary republic or a constitutional monarchy, has 'reserve powers' given to use at their discretion in order to act as a non-partisan 'referee' of the political process and ensure the nation's constitution is upheld). Some have combined the roles of head of state and head of government, much like presidential systems, but with a dependency upon parliamentary power. For the first case mentioned above, the form of executive-branch a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
President (government Title)
President is a common title for the head of state in most republics. The president of a nation is, generally speaking, the head of the government and the fundamental leader of the country or the ceremonial head of state. The functions exercised by a president vary according to the form of government. In parliamentary republics, they are usually, but not always, limited to those of the head of state and are thus largely ceremonial. In presidential, selected parliamentary (e.g. Botswana and South Africa), and semi-presidential republics, the role of the president is more prominent, encompassing also (in most cases) the functions of the head of government. In authoritarian regimes, a dictator or leader of a one-party state may also be called a president. The titles "Mr. President" and Madam President may apply to a person holding the title of president or presiding over certain other governmental bodies. "Mr. President" has subsequently been used by governments to refer to thei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arraiolos Group
The Arraiolos Group is an informal meeting of Presidents of parliamentary and semi-presidential European Union member states, held roughly once in a year. A political forum for the heads of state of parliamentary republics and also some semi-presidential republics (as opposed to constitutional monarchies or countries governed by a presidential system) whose role, according to the respective constitutions, may range from being significantly executive to largely ceremonial. It deals with questions and problems concerning the current state and future development of the EU as well as how to approach the challenges of globalisation. The name is derived from the small Portuguese town of Arraiolos, where the first meeting took place in 2003. Jorge Sampaio, then the President of Portugal, had invited the presidents of Finland, Germany, as well as of soon-to-be EU members Hungary, Latvia and Poland to discuss the consequences of the 2004 enlargement of the European Union and plans for a Co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arab League
The Arab League ( ar, الجامعة العربية, ' ), formally the League of Arab States ( ar, جامعة الدول العربية, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world, which is located in Northern Africa, Western Africa, Eastern Africa, and Western Asia. The Arab League was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945, initially with six members: Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt, Kingdom of Iraq (1932–1958), Iraq, Emirate of Transjordan, Transjordan (renamed Jordan in 1949), Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. Yemen joined as a member on 5 May 1945. Currently, the League has member states of the Arab League, 22 members, but Syria's participation has been suspended since November 2011. The League's main goal is to "draw closer the relations between member states and co-ordinate collaboration between them, to safeguard their independence and sovereignty, and to consider in a general way the affairs and interests of the Arab countries". The organization has received a relatively l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
African Economic Community
The African Economic Community (AEC) is an organization of African Union states establishing grounds for mutual economic development among the majority of African states. The stated goals of the organization include the creation of free trade areas, customs unions, a single market, a central bank, and a common currency (see African Monetary Union) thus establishing an economic and monetary union. Pillars Currently there are multiple regional blocs in Africa, also known as Regional Economic Communities (RECs), many of which have overlapping memberships. The RECs consist primarily of trade blocs and, in some cases, some political and military cooperation. Most of these RECs form the "pillars" of AEC, many of which also have an overlap in some of their member states. Due to this high proportion of overlap it is likely that some states with several memberships will eventually drop out of one or more RECs. Several of these pillars also contain subgroups with tighter customs and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
African Union
The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The bloc was founded on 26 May 2001 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and launched on 9 July 2002 in Durban, South Africa. The intention of the AU was to replace the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa by 32 signatory governments; the OAU was disbanded on 9 July 2002. The most important decisions of the AU are made by the Assembly of the African Union, a semi-annual meeting of the heads of state and government of its member states. The AU's secretariat, the African Union Commission, is based in Addis Ababa. The largest city in the AU is Lagos, Nigeria, while the largest urban agglomeration is Cairo, Egypt. The African Union has more than 1.3 billion people and an area of around and includes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC ) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economy, economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region.Member Economies – Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Apec.org. Retrieved 12 April 2014. Following the success of Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN's series of post-ministerial conferences launched in the mid-1980s, APEC started in 1989, in response to the growing interdependence of Asia-Pacific economies and the advent of regional trade blocs in other parts of the world; it aimed to establish new markets for agricultural products and raw materials beyond Europe. Headquartered in Singapore, APEC is recognized as one of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asia-Pacific
Asia-Pacific (APAC) is the part of the world near the western Pacific Ocean. The Asia-Pacific region varies in area depending on context, but it generally includes East Asia, Russian Far East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia and Pacific Islands. Definition The term may include countries in North America and South America that are on the coast of the Eastern Pacific Ocean; the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, for example, includes Canada, Chile, Mexico, Peru, and the United States. Alternatively, the term sometimes comprises all of Asia and Australasia as well as Pacific island nations (Asia-Pacific and Australian continent)—for example, when dividing the world into large regions for commercial purposes (e.g., into APAC, EMEA, LATAM, and NA). Central Asia and Western Asia are almost never included. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and many smaller islands within the British Isles. Northern Ireland shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland; otherwise, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea and the Irish Sea. The total area of the United Kingdom is , with an estimated 2020 population of more than 67 million people. The United Kingdom has evolved from a series of annexations, unions and separations of constituent countries over several hundred years. The Treaty of Union between the Kingdom of England (which included Wales, annexed in 1542) and the Kingdom of Scotland in 170 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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