| confederation | A group of states that willingly enter into an
alliance to form a political unit for a common purpose, such
as economic security or defense; it is highly interdependent
but has a weak directorate organization, thus allowing the
individual states to maintain a fairly high degree of sovereignty.
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| Council of the European Union | The most important decision-making body of the EU. The Council represents the member-states through each member’s representatives, which can range from the head of state to specialized ministers (such as agriculture). Also known as the Council of Ministers.
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| Court of Auditors | Second judicial oversight institution of the EU where each member-country has one member on the Court, directing a staff that oversees the EU budget. The Court has no independent corrective authority, but it can make recommendations to the Council and the Parliament.
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| Court of Justice | The most important court in the European Union.
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| European Commission | A 25-member commission that serves as the bureaucratic organ of the European Union.
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| European Ombudsman | A regulatory oversight structures appointed by European Parliament that investigates complaints made against EU authorities.
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| European Parliament (EP) | The 626-member legislative branch of the European Union. Representation is determined by population of member-countries, and is based on five-year terms.
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| European Union (EU) | The Western European regional organization
established in 1983 when the Maastricht Treaty
went into effect. The EU encompasses the still legally existing
European Community (EC). When the EC was formed
in 1967, it in turn encompassed three still legally existing
regional organizations formed in the 1950s: the European
Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the European Economic
Community (EEC), and the European Atomic Energy
Community (EURATOM).
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| European Economic Community (EEC) | The regional trade and economic organization established in Western Europe by the Treaty of Rome in 1958; also known as the Common Market.
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| European Communities (EC) | Established in 1967, the EC was a single unit whose plural name (Communities) reflects the fact that it united the European Coal and Steel Community, the European Economic Community, and the European Atomic Energy Community under one organizational structure. The EC evolved into the European Union beginning in 1993.
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| European Parliament | The 626-member legislative branch of the European Union. Representation is determined by population of member-countries and is based on five-year terms.
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| federation | Also called a federal government, this power-sharing governance structure is one in which the central authority and the member units each have substantial authority.
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| functionalism | International cooperation in specific areas such as communications, trade, travel, health, or environmental protection activity. Often symbolized by the specialized agencies, such as the World Health Organization,
associated with the United Nations.
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| Hague system | Name given to the peace conferences held
in the Netherlands in 1899 and 1907. This serves as the first
example of an international attempt to improve the condition
of humanity.
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| intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) | International/transnational actors that are composed of member countries.
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| League of Nations | The first, true general international organization.
It existed between the end of World War I and the beginning of World War II and was the immediate predecessor of the United Nations.
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| limited membership council | A representative organization body of the UN that grants special status to members who have a greater stake, responsibility, or capacity in a particular area of concern. The UN Security Council is an example.
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| Maastricht Treaty | The most significant agreement in the
recent history of the European Union (EU). The Maastricht
Treaty was signed by leaders of the EU’s 12 member countries in December 1991 and outlines steps toward further political-economic integration.
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| majority voting | A system used to determine how votes
should count. The theory of majoritarianism springs from
the concept of sovereign equality and the democratic notion
that the will of the majority should prevail. This system
has two main components: (1) each member casts one equal
vote, and (2) the issue is carried by either a simple majority
(50 percent plus one vote) or, in some cases, an extraordinary majority (commonly two-thirds).
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| neofunctionalism | The top-down approach to solving world problems.
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| plenary representative body | An assembly, such as the UN’s General Assembly, that consists of all members of the main organization.
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| President of the Commission | Comparable to being president
of the European Union (EU), this person is the director
of the 20-member European Commission, the policy-making
bureaucratic organ of the EU.
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| regime | A complex of norms, treaties, international organizations,
and transnational activity that orders an area of activity
such as the environment or oceans.
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| regional government | A possible middle level of governance
between the prevalent national governments of today
and the world government that some people favor. The regional
structure that comes closest to (but still well short of )
a regional government is the European Union.
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| Secretariat | The administrative organ of the United Nations,
headed by the secretary-general. In general, the administrative
element of any IGO, headed by a secretary-general.
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| supermajority voting | A voting formula that requires a two-thirds vote or some other fraction or combination of fractions for passage of a measure.
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| supranational organization | An organization that is founded
and operates, at least in part, on the idea that international organizations
can or should have authority higher than individual
states and that those states should be subordinate to the
supranational organization.
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| UN General Assembly (UNGA) | The main representative body of the United Nations, composed of all 191 member-states.
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| UN Security Council (UNSC) | The main peacekeeping organ of the United Nations. The Security Council has 15 members, including 5 permanent members.
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| unanimity voting | A system used to determine how votes
should count. In this system, in order for a vote to be valid,
all members must agree to the proposed measure. Abstention from a vote may or may not block an agreement.
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| United Nations (UN) | An international body created with
the intention to maintain peace through the cooperation of
its member-states. As part of its mission, it addresses human
welfare issues such as the environment, human rights, population, and health. Its headquarters are located in New York City, and it was established following World War II to supersede the League of Nations.
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| veto | A negative vote cast in the UN Security Council by
one of the five permanent members; has the effect of defeating the issue being voted on.
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| weighted voting | A system used to determine how votes
should count. In this system, particular votes count more or
less depending on what criterion is deemed to be most significant. For instance, population or wealth might be the
important defining criterion for a particular vote. In the case
of population, a country would receive a particular number
of votes based on its population; thus a country with a large
population would have more votes than a less-populated
country.
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| world government | The concept of a supranational world authority to which current countries would surrender some or all of their sovereign authority.
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