Specialty Digest

DISCOVER IDEAS THAT SHAPE OUR WORLD

Encyclopedia

Law & Government

Law, politics, policy and international affairs

A red public post box on a street wall

Postal voting

In simple terms Postal voting is a way of casting a ballot without going to a polling station. The election office posts the ballot to the voter, who fills it in and sends it back. International IDEA defines it as those measures that allow voters to submit their ballot by physical post to the election […]

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Postal voting lets a registered voter mark a ballot at home and return it by mail instead of visiting a polling station.

Sanctions

In simple terms Sanctions are penalties applied between governments rather than inside a courtroom. They cut off trade, money or travel to press a target into changing course. The defining feature is what they are not. They stop short of armed force, sitting between a diplomatic protest and a war. How it works Sanctions come

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Sanctions are restrictions one country or bloc imposes on another state, group or individual to change its behavior without using military force.

The General Assembly hall at United Nations Headquarters in New York, seen from the rear of the chamber.

United Nations General Assembly

In simple terms The General Assembly is the meeting of every country in the United Nations. All 193 member states sit in it, and each one has a single vote. It was established in 1945 under the UN Charter as the organization chief deliberative, policymaking and representative organ. How it works The Assembly runs in

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The UN General Assembly is the United Nations body where all 193 member states meet and each one holds a single equal vote.