Term

Showing 61–70 of 111 results

• Term

  Operations Center

  The Operations Center (Ops Center) is the Secretary's and the Department's communications and crisis management center. Working 24 hours a day, the Operations Center monitors world events, prepares briefings for the Secretary and other Department principals, and facilitates communication between the Department and the rest of the world. The Operations Center also coordinates the Department's response to crises and supports task forces, monitoring groups, and other crisis-related activities.

• Term

  Passport

  A passport is an internationally recognized travel document that verifies the identity and nationality of the bearer. A valid U.S. passport is required to enter and leave most foreign countries. Only the U.S. Department of State has the authority to grant, issue, or verify United States passports.

• Term

  Persona non grata

  A Latin phrase meaning “unwelcome person.” As a legal term, it refers to the practice of a state prohibiting a diplomat from entering the country as a diplomat, or censuring a diplomat already resident in the country for conduct unbecoming of the status of a diplomat.

• Term

  Ratification

  To approve and sanction formally, as with a treaty.

• Term

  International Organizations

  An organization with an international membership, mission, or presence. There are two main types: International nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) are nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that operate internationally, such as the International Olympic Committee or the International Committee of the Red Cross. Intergovernmental organizations, also known as international governmental organizations (IGOs), the type of organization most closely associated with the term "international organization" are organizations that are made up primarily of sovereign states (referred to as member states). Examples include the United Nations; NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization); OAS (Organization of American States); APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation); ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations); and the WTO (World Trade Organization).

• Term

  Recognition

  Commonly used in connection with the recognition by one state of the existence of another state (for example when a new one is formed), or the existence of a government which is in effective control of a state.

• Term

  Locally employed staff

  Staff that work at a Foreign Service post (Embassy/Consulate/Mission) abroad. The overwhelming majority are citizens of the country the post is located in, but some are American citizens living in the country and family members of Foreign Service Officers and other full time USG employees who are assigned to a post. More than 53,000 Locally Employed Staff work at U.S. Missions around the world. They provide local expertise, language skills, continuity and contacts within the host country. They are indispensible full-fledged members of our American missions abroad.

• Term

  Sanctions

  A form of hard power, these are coercive measures taken by one or more states to protest another state’s actions and to force a change of behavior. Although sanctions may technically include military action, they usually refer to measures taken by diplomats in lieu of military action. Diplomatically, sanctions may include the breaking of formal relations or the removal of a country’s embassy. Other forms include economic sanctions to ban certain types of trade, and sports sanctions to prevent a country’s people and teams from competing in international events.

• Term

  Mission

  A diplomatic representation to an international organization. Mission is also used to refer to an embassy.

• Term

  Smart power

  The flexible and combined use of hard power – military force or economic sanctions – and soft power – diplomatic and cultural influence – to overcome a foreign policy challenge.