Glossary — O

Glossary terms beginning with O.

OAPEC: Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries. Coordinates petroleum policies of major oil-producing Arab states. In early 1987 membership included Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates.
OAU: Organization of African Unity. Inter-African organization with a membership of thirty African states.
oblast: A major territorial and administrative subdivision in the newly independent states. Russia has forty-nine such divisions, which approximate provinces.
obrajes: Rudimentary textile factories set up throughout the highlands in the colonial period to pay the tribute owed to encomiendas (q.v.).
Odwira: Annual Akan festival for the propitiation of the ancestors.
official development assistance (ODA): Those flows to developing countries and multilateral institutions provided by official agencies, including state and local governments, or by their executive agencies, each transaction of which meets the following criteria: it is administered with the promotion of the economic development and welfare of developing countries as its main objective; and it is concessional in character and contains a grant element of at least 25 percent.
offshore banking: Term applied to banking transactions conducted between participants located outside the country. Such transactions increased rapidly worldwide after the mid-1960s because of the growth and liquidity of Eurocurrency (q.v.) markets.
okres (pl., okresy): Administrative territorial subdivision of kraj (q.v.) roughly equivalent to a county in the United States.
okrug (pl., okruga): An autonomous territorial and administrative subdivision of a territory (kray--q.v.) or oblast (q.v.) in the Russian Federation that grants a degree of administrative autonomy to a nationality; most are in remote, sparsely populated areas. In 1997 the Russian Federation had ten such jurisdictions.
Old Believers: A sect of the Russian Orthodox Church that rejected the changes made by Patriarch Nikon in the mid-seventeenth century.; Source: Library of Congress
Old Church Slavonic (also known as Old Church Slavic): The first Slavic literary language, which influenced the development of the modern Slavic languages, including literary Russian. Used in liturgies of the Slavic Orthodox churches. After the twelfth century, known as Church Slavonic.
Omani rial (RO): Monetary unit of Oman, divided into 1,000 baizas.; Source: Library of Congress
one country, two systems: A policy originating in the early 1980s that promotes reunification of Hong Kong, Macao,and Taiwan with the mainland and offers them a high degree of autonomy as special administrative regions of China. Through separate agreements with Britain and Portugal, Hong Kong and Macao are to revert to Chinese control in 1997 and 1999, respectively.
OPEC: Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Coordinates petroleum policies of thirteen major oil-producing countries. In early 1987 members included Algeria, Ecuador, Gabon, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela.
open market operations: The process by which the central bank buys or sells securities in the open market to control monetary growth or interest rates. By selling securities, the central bank absorbs excess money, whereas by buying securities it adds to the money supply.
opportunity cost: The value of a good or service in terms of what had to be sacrificed in order to obtain that item.
Organisation for Economic Co- operation and Development (OECD): Established in 1961 to replace the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC), the OECD is an international organization composed of the industrialized market economy countries (twenty-four full members as of 1993). The OECD seeks to promote economic and social welfare in member countries, as well as in developing countries, by providing a forum in which to establish and coordinate policies.; Source: Library of Congress
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE): Established as the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) in July 1972 by Canada, the United States, and all of the European states except Albania. In August 1975, these states signed the Helsinki Accords, confirming existing, post-World War II boundaries and obligating signatories to respect basic principles of human rights. Subsequently the CSCE held sessions and consultations on European security issues. The Charter of Paris (1990) established the CSCE as a permanent organization. In 1992 new CSCE roles in conflict prevention and management were defined, potentially making the CSCE the center of a Europe-based collective security system--a role advocated by Russia in the mid-1990s. The CSCE became the OSCE in January 1995. As of 1996, fifty-three nations were members.
Organization of American States (OAS): Established by the Ninth International Conference of American States held in Bogotá on April 30, 1948, and effective since December 13, 1951. Has served as a major inter-American organization to promote regional peace and security as well as economic and social development in Latin America. Composed of thirty-five members, including most Latin American states and the United States and Canada. Determines common political, defense, economic, and social policies and provides for coordination of various inter-American agencies. Responsible for implementing the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (Rio Treaty) (q.v.), when any threat to the security of the region arises.; Source: Library of Congress
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC): Coordinates petroleum policies of thirteen major producing countries. In early 1987 members included Algeria, Ecuador, Gabon, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela.
Oriental Jews: See Sephardim.; Source: Library of Congress
Orthodox Jews: Adherents of that branch of Judaism that insists on a rigid and strict observance of halakah (q.v.) and an emphasis on national ritual conformity.; Source: Library of Congress
Ottoman Empire: Formed in thirteenth and fourteenth centuries when Osman I, a Muslim prince, and his successors, known in the West as Ottomans, took over the Byzantine territories of western Anatolia and southeastern Europe and conquered the eastern Anatolian Turkmen principalities. The Ottoman Empire disintegrated at the end of World War I; the center was reorganized as the Republic of Turkey, and the outlying provinces became separate states.; Source: Library of Congress
Outer Islands: Term used by some sources to refer to all islands of the Indonesian archipelago other than Java and Madura. Other sources, however, use the term to refer to all islands except Java, Madura, Bali, and Sumatra; still others say except Java and Bali or exclude Java, Madura, and Bali. The term as translated from Dutch--buitengewesten--means outer terroritories or regions while a similar term from Bahasa Indonesia (q.v.)--tanah seberang--means land (or lands) over there, or across the seas. The term is sometimes considered pejorative by those people living on the islands indicated.
Outer Mongolia: The name applied to the northern part of traditional Mongolia during the period of Manchu control (1691-1911) and commonly in Western literature thereafter.
overseas Chinese: Term usually used to refer to any person of Chinese origin living abroad on a permanent basis, without regard to his or her current citizenship. Overseas Chinese minorities are concentrated principally in Southeast Asia but are also found in other parts of Asia, the Middle East, Europe, North America, South America, and the Caribbean. Overseas Chinese have long been important to the government in power in China as a source of business contacts and of financial and moral support from abroad. The majority of foreign investment in China is by overseas Chinese, and more than 90 percent of all foreign tourists who visit China are overseas Chinese. Also used in China to refer to persons living in China who have returned from sojourns abroad.