Glossary of political acronyms

ALP (noun): the Australian Labor Party is the major centre-left political party in Australia – In Australia's last federal election, the ALP easily defeated the centre-right Liberal Party.

AP (noun): Associated Press is a US news organization that produces and sells news reports and Western commentary worldwide – Doesn't the AP try to check whether information in government press releases is factual before spreading it?

APEC (noun): Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation is an inter-governmental forum for countries across the Asia-Pacific region that meets annually to promote free trade and economic co-operation – The first APEC conference was held in Australia in 1989.

ASEAN (noun): the Association of Southeast Asian Nations is a political and economic union of ten member states in Southeast Asia that promotes regional cooperation and integration – Due to ASEAN's policy of "non-interference in the internal affairs of member nations" it has failed to condemn human rights abuses by some of its members.

AU (noun): the African Union is a union of 55 African countries that arranges meetings among leaders to achieve greater unity, promote good governance and raise living standards – The AU was formed to replace the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in 2002.

AUKUS (noun): a security agreement between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States in which they pledge to help defend each other's national interests – AUKUS has overshadowed the security pact between Australia, New Zealand and the USA known as ANZUS.

BBC (noun): the British Broadcasting Corporation is the UK's national broadcaster of news and entertainment on TV, radio and online– Is the BBC ever biased when reporting on military conflicts involving the UK?

BRICS (noun): Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa is a group of rapidly-developing nations that meet regularly to discuss economic development and trade – Our economics professor says BRICS will overtake the G7 in terms of net wealth by 2050.

CGTN (noun): China Global Television Network is the international division of state media outlet China Central Television (CCTV), headquartered in Beijing – Western media regulators often say non-Western broadcasters like China's CGTN and Russia's RT only broadcast propaganda.

CIA (noun): the Central Intelligence Agency is a US government agency that uses information it collects by spying to further US national interests and US corporations – The CIA has undermined many democratically-elected governments by organizing coups and uprisings that led to the establishment of brutal military dictatorships, especially in South America.

CNN (noun): Cable News Network is a mainstream multinational news channel and website founded in the US in 1980 – CNN's commentary is quite progressive when it comes to social issues, but its international coverage hardly ever challenges Western foreign policy.

DW (noun): Deutsche Welle is a German state-owned, government-funded national broadcaster that provides free news channels and websites in a range of languages – DW News is a 24-hour English-language news channel specializing in European news and politics.

EU (noun): the European Union is a political and economic union that most European countries now belong to – The UK withdrew from the EU in 2020 after nearly fifty years of membership.

FTA (noun): a free-trade agreement is an agreement between two or more countries to boost trade by reducing trade barriers such as import quotas and tariffs – A new FTA was signed by China and South Korea in 2014.

G7 (noun): The G7 or Group of 7 is an intergovernmental forum of seven Western countries - Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the USA - plus "non-enumerated member" the EU – G7 countries account for just 10% of the world's population, but they own over half the world's net wealth.

G20 (noun): The G20 or Group of 20 is an intergovernmental forum of 19 countries and the European Union (EU) that aims to discuss and manage global issues – Protesters opposing the G20 say it undermines existing international forums like the UN in which all countries have a voice.

GDP (noun): Gross Domestic Product is a measure of the market value of all the goods and services a country has produced and sold in a given period of time – China's GDP is expected to become the world's highest by 2035.

GOP (noun): the GOP (Grand Old Party) refers to the USA's Republican Party, one of the country's two main political parties – We've always voted GOP around here, but for the first time ever some of us are voting Democrat this time.

ICC (noun): the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands can prosecute individuals for crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide – The USA won't join the ICC because its leaders and military personnel could be charged with war crimes in Vietnam, Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, etc.

IMF (noun): the International Monetary Fund is a UN agency that lends money to countries in debt if they agree to follow the IMF's economic policies – The IMF has been criticized for imposing austerity policies that make life for the poor even worse.

LGBTQI (adjective): lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning (or queer), intersex – Gay sex was legalized in Russia in 1993, but members of Russia's LGBTQI community are still being attacked by right-wing thugs. (Note: variants include LGBT, LGBTI, LGBTQ, and LGBTQI+)

MIA (adjective): Missing In Action – Even though my son disappeared while fighting in Iraq nearly 20 years ago, he's still listed as MIA.

MI6 (noun): short for Military Intelligence Section 6, the UK's foreign intelligence service tasked with spying on foreign countries – After resigning from the military, James got a job at MI6.

MP (noun): a Member of Parliament is the person elected to represent their distinct in the House of Commons (UK) or the House of Representatives (Australia, New Zealand, Japan, etc.) – Kim has been our local MP since 2012.

NAFTA (noun): North American Free Trade Agreement – By signing NAFTA, member countries Canada, Mexico and the USA formed a new trilateral trade bloc.

NATO (noun): North Atlantic Treaty Organization is a military alliance between the USA, Canada and many countries in Europe – Should Russia see NATO's recent expansion into Eastern Europe as a threat to its national security?

NASA (noun): National Aeronautics and Space Administration is a US state agency responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research and space research – NASA's Apollo mission succeeded in landing people on the moon by 1969.

NGO (noun): non-governmental organizations are mostly non-profit citizen groups that support the public good by focusing on issues like environmental or consumer protection, human rights, legal aid, economic development, etc. – My brother does volunteer work for an NGO that helps homeless people in Los Angeles.

NHK (noun): Japanese public broadcaster of TV and radio, with both domestic and international channels including NHK World, an English-language news and sports channel – Have you ever watched a current affairs show called Newsline on NHK World?

NRA (noun): the National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a powerful US lobby group that has prevented nearly all gun control proposals at the State or Federal level from passing into law - Every year gun manufacturers donate millions of dollars to the NRA.

OECD (noun): the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development consists of 36 highly-developed countries that promote a globalised market economy – Why don't the new OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises outlaw schemes that let corporations avoid paying tax?

OPEC (noun): The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries – Did you know that Venezuela has more proven oil reserves than any other OPEC member country?

PAC (US noun): a Political Action Committee is a US political fundraising organisation – There are lots of rules about forming PACs and using them to finance election campaigns. (Note: a Super PAC is a special type of PAC that can raise and spend more money than a normal PAC)

PBS (noun): Public Broadcasting Service is a non-commercial US public broadcaster and free-to-air television network mostly funded by membership drives and donations – PBS broadcasts a wide range of news, documentary and entertainment programs, including many made for kids. (Note: PBS can also refer to PBS 106.7FM, a community radio station in Melbourne, Australia)

PLO (noun): the Palestine Liberation Organization is a Palestinian political organization founded in 1964 in order to re-establish the Palestinian state – Yasser Arafat was the leader of the PLO from 1969 until his sudden death in 2004.

POTUS (US noun): president of the United States – The headline in today's newspaper was "POTUS visits UK for NATO meeting".

PM (UK noun): prime minister – Why has the UK had so many different PMs in the last few years?

POW (noun): prisoner of war – Isn't it illegal for the military forces of any country to mistreat or torture POWs?

PR (noun): public relations – Political parties have begun employing PR professionals to help their politicians get elected.

RT (noun): RT (formerly Russia Today) is a non-profit international television network founded by the Russia's state-owned news agency RIA Novosti – Is RT really just a propaganda tool run by the Russian leader?

SCOTUS (US noun): Supreme Court of the United States – Republican presidents have made SCOTUS far more conservative than it used to be by only appointing right-wing judges.

SWAT (US noun): Special Weapons and Tactics (refers to special US police units) – SWAT teams in heavy armour used military weapons to brutally control an angry crowd that was gathering after yet another police killing.

TNI (noun): Tentara Nasional Indonesia is the Indonesian-language name of Indonesia's armed forces – The TNI is still being accused of widespread human rights abuses in West Papua.

UK (noun): the United Kingdom (short for "the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland") is a country comprised of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland – How come England and Scotland are called countries when they're already part of this bigger country called the UK?

UN (noun): the United Nations is the world's biggest and most important intergovernmental organisation – When it was founded in 1945, the UN's main mission was to preserve world peace.

UNESCO (noun): the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization – The World Heritage Centre in Paris, France, is where UNESCO has its headquarters.

UNHCR (noun): the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees – The UNHCR makes sure refugees have a safe place to stay until they decide to go back home or resettle in another country.

UNICEF (noun) : the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund – UNICEF is the UN agency that provides humanitarian and developmental aid to children worldwide.

USSR (noun): Union of Soviet Socialist Republics – The USSR, or the Soviet Union as it was also called, was a highly-centralized union of fifteen communist countries until its collapse in 1991.

VIP (noun): very important person – Whenever the World Economic Forum meets in Davos, hordes of VIPs turn up.

VOA (noun): Voice of America is the USA's state-owned international broadcaster that produces digital, TV and radio content in nearly 50 languages – VOA has a weekly worldwide audience of over 300 million people, most of whom can't speak English.

WASP (US noun): White Anglo-Saxon Protestant - upper-class white Americans originally from the UK or Northern Europe who became the country's wealthiest and most privileged ethnic group – Nearly all US presidents have been from old WASP families.

WEF (noun): World Economic Forum is a corporate-financed NGO based in Switzerland that aims to further corporate interests by publishing reports and organizing conferences – At the WEF’s annual meeting in Davos corporate and political leaders and invited VIPs attend public lectures and conferences while in private they can lobby for investment and make business deals.

WHO (noun): World Health Organisation – Hugely-profitable drug companies have tried to discredit the WHO because it promotes limiting the prices they charge for life-saving drugs.

WMD (noun): weapon of mass destruction (incl. chemical, biological and nuclear weapons) – The CIA falsely claimed Iraq possessed WMDs and the USA used this as its justification for illegally invading Iraq in 2003.

WTO (noun): World Trade Organization is an intergovernmental organization that aims to boost trade, reduce trade barriers and solve trade disputes – After completing university, I got a job at the WTO in Geneva.

WWF (noun): The World Wildlife Fund (also known as The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc.) – The WWF's mission is to help us preserve our planet's natural environment and to build a future in which we live in harmony with nature.