Research Tools
Acronyms and Abbreviations in International and Human Security
Glossary of acronyms and abbreviations (in pdf)
The present English-French glossary of acronyms and abbreviations in international and human security has been compiled by Marc Finaud, Director of Short Courses, from various authoritative sources to serve as a tool for researchers and practitioners. There are already a number of glossaries available on the Internet. However this one has some specific characteristics:
- It contains more than 10,000 entries.
- It is bilingual: it gives not only the full meaning of English acronyms but also their most common or official translation into French as well as the equivalent French acronym when it exists; in addition, it lists those French acronyms separately to allow for the search of their English meaning and equivalents.
- It encompasses all aspects of international security, not only its military aspects but also issues dealing with terrorism, proliferation, transnational organised crime, homeland security, human trafficking, migration, refugees, human rights, health, development, peacebuilding, etc.
- Its sources include not only official websites of governments and international organisations (United Nations System, European Union, North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, International Atomic Energy Agency, World Bank, International Organization for Standardization, etc.), but also websites of non-governmental organisations and specialised think tanks as well as publications.
- It will be regularly updated and supplemented with new acronyms.
Please note:
- In the meaning of English acronyms, main words are capitalised in order to explain the origin of the acronym. In practice, capital letters should be retained only for proper nouns or names of institutions (for example: anti-aircraft artillery, but: the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre, or: the World Economic Forum). In French, the use of capital letters is more restricted; as a rule, for names of institutions, only the first word and proper nouns are capitalised (l'Union européenne, l'Organisation pour la sécurité et la cooperation en Europe).
- Most entries indicate the source or the main organisation using the acronym. When no source is mentioned, the acronym is of common use.
- In the case of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), the only document listing the officially-approved meaning of acronyms and abbreviations in English and French is the Allied Administrative Publication (AAP-6 or AAP-15), updated each year and available on NATO's website (http://www.nato.int/docu/stanag/aap015/2008-aap15.pdf).
- This glossary includes all the official three-letter country and territory codes issued by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO 3166) and available on the Internet ( http://www.iso.org/iso/en/prods-services/iso3166ma/02iso-3166-code-lists/index.html ). For two-letter and numerical codes, please consult that website.
Feedback
The GCSP would appreciate feedback from the users of this glossary: suggestions for correcting errors, adding new acronyms or signalling obsolete ones. Please contact: Dr Christina Schori-Liang, Research Officer (c.liang@gcsp.ch).
Sources and References
Books
1. Cirincione, Joseph: Deadly Arsenals, Tracking Weapons of Mass Destruction, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2002.
2. Coming to Terms with Security: A Handbook on Verification and Compliance, UNIDIR and VERTIC.
3. Goldblat, Jozef: Arms Control, A Guide to Negotiations and Agreements, Peace Research Institute Oslo, SAGE Publications, 2002.
4. Tulliu, Steve, & Schmalberger, Thomas: Coming to Terms with Security: A Lexicon for Arms Control, Disarmament and Confidence-Building, 2003, 252p., UNIDIR, United Nations.
Websites
Governments
French Ministry of Foreign Affairs (general) |
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French Ministry of Foreign Affairs (French acronyms) |
http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/article-imprim.php3?id_article=3034 |
French Ministry of Foreign Affairs (development) |
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French Ministry of Defence |
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French Prime Minister's Office ( La Documentation française ) |
http://www.ladocfrancaise.gouv.fr/dossier_actualite/europe_defense/glossaire/glossaire.shtml |
Permanent Representation of France to the Conference on Disarmament (French and English Acronyms on Disarmament) |
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United States Department of Defense |
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| United States Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) (acronyms and abbreviations relating to disaster management and terrorism) |
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United States Joint Forces Command |
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United States Defense Threat Reduction Agency - Defense Treaty Inspection Readiness Program (arms control terminology) |
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United States Permanent Mission to the United Nations |
International Organisations
Conference on Disarmament |
http://www.unog.ch/80256EE600585943/(httpPages)/2D415EE45C5FAE07C12571800055232B?OpenDocument |
Council of Europe |
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European Union (EU) |
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International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) |
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International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) |
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North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) |
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Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) |
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Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons |
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| Partnership for Peace Information Management System (PIMS) |
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Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization |
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United Nations (UN) |
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United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations (UNDPKO) |
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United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) |
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United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) |
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United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG) |
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United Nations Interpreters |
Non-Governmental Organisations
Aid Workers Network |
http://www.aidworkers.net/management/military/military-terminology.html |
Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC)/Commodity Command Standard System (CCSS) |
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Federation of American Scientists (FAS) |
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| Hadès - Ackr (Multilingual and Multi-topic Acronym Dictionary) |
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Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) |
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Seattle Community Network (SCN) |
Universities and Think Tanks
University of Toronto (G8 Terminology) |
http://www.g7.utoronto.ca/g8online/2002/english/terminology.html |
Rand Corporation (military acronyms) |
http://www.rand.org/pubs/conf_proceedings/CF148/CF148.acro.pdf |
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH)/International Relations and Security Network (ISN) |
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Cranfield University/AERADE (Aerospace and defence resources) |
Private Websites
| About.com/Military History (Military Acronyms, Initialisms, and Abbreviations) (English only) |
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Aviation-fr.info (French aerospace Forum) |
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Didier Belair Dictionaries (defence acronyms) |
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Lexicon about Navy (French and English acronyms and terms) |
http://pageperso.aol.fr/rodtotophe/ |
DT Media UK (military acronyms) |
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Indexa.fr (information technology acronyms) |
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Jean Bonnefoy (military acronyms) |
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Military Periscope (military acronyms) |
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Roman Nazarov (transnational organised crime - English-French-Russian) |
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Space and Electronic Warfare Lexicon |
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| Wikipedia (List of modern infantry-related terms and acronyms- English only) |
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Worldwarfour (military acronyms in English and Russian by Jangir Aras) |