Geography terms in Power, places and networks

A multilateral development bank proposed by China in 2013 and operating since 2015, headquartered in Beijing, which finances infrastructure in Asia and beyond and has over 100 members.

A global infrastructure and investment strategy launched by China in 2013, financing ports, railways, roads, energy and telecommunications through overland corridors and a Maritime Silk Road.

Aid given directly from the government of one country to the government of another, often reflecting the donor’s political and commercial links.

A customs union in which goods, services, capital and people can also move freely between member states.

The policy conditions, such as spending cuts, tax rises or privatisation, that a borrowing country must accept in order to receive a loan from the IMF or another lender.

Products made and sold with a copied trademark or design so that they appear to be genuine branded goods, in breach of intellectual property law.

A free trade area whose members also set a common external tariff on imports from non-member countries.

The transfer of digital information, such as communications, financial transactions, media and business data, between places across networks, especially across international borders.

Money that a government, firm or household owes to lenders and must repay, usually with interest; a country’s external debt is the part owed to foreign lenders.

The partial or total cancellation of a country’s debt, or the rescheduling of its repayments on easier terms, by its creditors.

A common market whose members also co-ordinate or share economic policies, often including a single currency and a central bank, as in the euro area.

A state or union of states whose rapidly growing economic, military, political and cultural influence may allow it to become a superpower, such as China or India.

The right of citizens of the member states of a bloc, such as the EU, to travel, live and work in any other member state without a visa or work permit.

A group of countries that remove tariffs and quotas on trade in goods between themselves, while each keeps its own trade policy towards non-members.

A designated area within a country, often at a port or airport, where imported goods can be stored, processed and re-exported free of customs duties and with simplified regulations.

An informal forum of seven major high-income democracies (USA, Japan, Germany, UK, France, Italy, Canada, with the EU) whose leaders co-ordinate economic and political policy; the G8 while Russia was a member (1998–2014).

A forum of 19 countries, the European Union and the African Union, including the major high-income and emerging economies, which produces about 85% of world GDP and co-ordinates global economic policy.

The separation of a place from other places by distance or physical barriers such as oceans, mountains, deserts or ice, which increases the cost and difficulty of interaction.

The movement of goods, services, capital, people, information or ideas across international borders, between places that are linked by networks.

The exchanges and connections between places and peoples worldwide, including flows of goods, services, capital, people, information and ideas, and political and cultural links.

A composite measure that combines several indicators of international flows and connections into a single score, used to compare how far countries participate in global interactions.

A form of foreign direct investment in which a firm builds a new facility, such as a factory, office or mine, in another country rather than buying an existing one.

The use of coercion or payment, such as military force, economic sanctions, aid or trade deals, to make other states act in a particular way.

A programme of the IMF and the World Bank, launched in 1996, that cancels much of the external debt of the poorest, most indebted countries once they meet conditions on reform and poverty reduction.

The dominance of one state over others, exercised through military and economic strength and through leadership of the rules, institutions and ideas that other states accept.

A transport network in which routes from many smaller places (spokes) connect to a central node (the hub), where passengers or goods change routes, rather than travelling directly between every pair of places.

A cross-border movement of people, goods, services or money that is prohibited by law, such as human trafficking, the smuggling of narcotics or counterfeit goods, and illicit financial transfers.

The infrastructure and devices, such as cables, satellites, mobile networks, computers and smartphones, and the software and services used to store, process and transmit information.

A relationship in which countries or places rely on each other, for example for trade, investment, energy or security, so that a change in one affects the others.

An international financial institution of 191 member countries, founded in 1944, that promotes monetary co-operation and financial stability and lends to countries facing balance-of-payments crises, with conditions.

A sponsorship system, used mainly in Gulf states, Jordan and Lebanon, that ties a migrant worker’s visa and legal residence to one employer, who controls the worker’s ability to change job or leave.

An annual index by the KOF Swiss Economic Institute that scores countries from 0 to 100 on economic, social and political globalisation, combining actual flows (de facto) and enabling policies (de jure).

A low- or middle-income country with no direct access to the sea, which depends on transit through neighbouring countries for its seaborne trade.

A form of foreign direct investment in which a firm buys (acquisition) or combines with (merger) an existing firm in another country, rather than building a new facility.

An organisation whose members are the governments of several countries, which co-operate under shared rules on issues such as trade, security or the environment; trade blocs are one type.

Aid that donor governments give to international organisations, such as the World Bank, UN agencies or regional development banks, which then allocate it to recipient countries.

A distribution of global power in which three or more states or groups of states have significant influence, so that no single superpower dominates.

The illegal cultivation, manufacture, transport and sale of controlled drugs such as cocaine, heroin, cannabis and synthetic drugs across international borders.

The presence, quantity and accessibility of natural resources, such as fuels, minerals, fertile land, water and forests, in a place, which influences the investment and trade it attracts.

A set of interconnected places (nodes) joined by links, such as transport routes, communication cables or business relationships, along which flows move.

A multilateral development bank founded by the BRICS countries in 2014, headquartered in Shanghai, which lends for infrastructure and sustainable development and gives its five founders equal shares.

Government aid, as grants or concessional loans, given to lower-income countries with the main aim of promoting their economic development and welfare, as defined by the OECD Development Assistance Committee.

A wider alliance, formed in 2016, in which OPEC members co-ordinate oil production with other major exporters, most importantly Russia, to influence world oil prices.

An intergovernmental organisation of 38 mainly high-income member countries, founded in 1961, that collects economic data, compares policies and sets standards on aid, tax and investment.

An intergovernmental organisation of oil-exporting countries, founded in 1960, that co-ordinates its members’ oil production in order to influence world oil prices.

The contracting of a task or process, such as manufacturing, customer service or IT, to another firm instead of carrying it out within the firm itself, in the same country or abroad.

A system of migration control in which applicants gain points for characteristics such as a job offer, skills, qualifications, language ability and salary, and may apply for a visa if they reach a set threshold.

Money or goods sent by a migrant to family or friends in their home country, usually as small, regular transfers.

The tendency of some countries with abundant natural resources, especially oil and minerals, to experience slower economic growth, weaker institutions or more conflict than countries with fewer resources.

A flow diagram in which the width of each band is proportional to the quantity it represents, used to show how a total is split between, or made up of, different flows.

The idea that the world has become effectively smaller because transport and communication technologies have reduced the time, cost and difficulty of moving people, goods and information between places.

One of a UN-recognised group of small island and low-lying coastal countries that share challenges such as remoteness, small populations and markets, narrow economies and high vulnerability to external shocks.

The ability to combine hard power (coercion and payment) and soft power (attraction) into an effective strategy suited to each situation.

A graph of value added against the stages of a product’s value chain that is high at the research, design and brand ends and lowest at manufacturing and assembly, giving a U-shaped curve.

A package of IMF and World Bank loans, used widely in the 1980s and 1990s, that required borrowing countries to privatise, liberalise trade and reduce government spending.

A fibre-optic cable laid on the sea floor between landing stations on different coasts, carrying most of the world’s international internet and telephone traffic.

A company that is owned and controlled, wholly or by a majority of its shares, by another company (the parent company), often in a different country.

A state or union of states with a dominant position in the world, able to exert influence and project power globally through economic strength, military and diplomatic reach and cultural attraction.

The sequence of organisations, activities and places involved in producing a good or service and delivering it to the consumer, from raw materials to the final sale.

The ratio of an index of a country’s export prices to an index of its import prices, multiplied by 100; a rise means that each unit of exports buys more imports.

Aid given on the condition that the recipient spends it on goods and services from the donor country.

The process by which faster transport, communication and flows of capital reduce the importance of distance and speed up economic and social life, so that places become more instantly interconnected.

The reduction over time in the travel time or cost between places as transport and communication improve, so that places become effectively closer together.

The buying and selling of goods and services across international borders, recorded as exports (sales abroad) and imports (purchases from abroad).

A group of countries, usually in the same region, that agree to reduce or remove tariffs, quotas and other barriers to trade between them.

The standard measure of container capacity, equal to one container 20 feet long and 8 feet wide; a 40-foot container counts as two units.

The sequence of activities, from research and design to production, marketing and after-sales service, through which a product gains value, each stage adding to its final worth.

An international financial institution, founded in 1944 with the IMF, that provides loans, grants and advice to low- and middle-income countries for development projects, aiming to end extreme poverty.

The multi-governmental organisation, founded in 1995, that negotiates and enforces the rules of international trade between its member governments and settles their trade disputes.