DEMOCRACY IN THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD
GLOSSARY
Censorship: A condition under which the freedom of expression I taken
away. Citizens have to take prior permission from the censor authorities of the
government for making a speech or publishing news and views. Anything that the government finds
objectionable cannot be published.
Coalition: An alliance of people, associations, parties or nations. This
alliance may be temporary or a matter of convenience.
Colony: Territory under the immediate political control of another
state.
Communist
state: A state governed by a communist party
without allowing other parties to compete for power. The state controls all the
big property and industry.
Coup: A coup d’etat (pronounced ku de’ta), or simply a coup, is the
sudden overthrow of a government illegally. It may or may not be violent in
nature. The term is French for ‘a sudden blow or strike to a state’.
martial
law: A system of rules that takes effect
when a military authority takes control of the normal administration of
justice.
Political
prisoners: Persons held in prison llor therwise
detained, perhaps under house arrest, because a government considers their
ideas, image or activities as a threat to the authority of the state.
Often exaggerated or false cases are
foisted on them and they are kept in detention without following normal law.
Referendum: A direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to
either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may be adoption of a new
constitution, a law or a specific governmental policy.
State: Mass refusal by workers or employees to perform work due to
certain grievances or because of demands not met. In most democratic countries
the right to strike is legal.
Trade
Union: An association of workers for the
purpose of maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment.
Veto: The right of a person, party or nation to stop a certain
decision or law. The word comes form Latin, which means “I forbid’. A veto
gives unlimited power to stop a decision, but not to adopt one.
