1. See “World Leaders Put Their Histories Online,” January 16, 2003. Retrieved January 22, 2003, from the World Wide Web at http://discover.npr.org/features/feature.jhtml?wfId=922714.

2. According to the CIA World Factbook; http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html. The most recent year listed in the Factbook is 2002. The Cambodian Council of Ministers Web site is http://www. camnet.com.kh/ocm/.

3. Ethiopia’s GDP, according to the CIA World Factbook, was $700 in 2002. Sierra Leone was ranked as the poorest country in the world out of 231 countries, according to the Factbook, with a per capita GDP of $500. Luxembourg had the highest GDP per capita of $48,900, followed by the United States at $36,300.

4. There is considerable debate in political science, economics, and sociology journals regarding the true definition of “Third World.” In general, it signifies “as a group, the less-developed countries of Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East that are part of the World capitalist system” (Berberoglu, 1992). Third World gained prominence in the global lexicon in the early 1970s; see Harry Magdoff and Paul M. Sweezy, Readings in U.S. Imperialism (1972). Other terms commonly used are “less-developed” and “lesser developed country,” or LDC. Albert Szymanski (1981) is generally credited for coining the term “less-developed” in The Logic of Imperialism. More recently, terminology applied to so-called lesser developed countries has focused on the sociolinguistic and critical development meanings of such terms. Critics argue that the terms themselves perpetuate the location of countries in a lower socioeconomic class than developed countries. For this study, I will use “lesser developed country” as a descriptor only, attempting to use the term in a neutral context whenever possible.

5. For the remainder of this study, the term “presidential” will be used to describe the elected, proclaimed, or internationally recognized leader of a country. In Swaziland, for example, this individual is the king. For a complete list of population country heads of state, see Table 1-2.

6. Russia is a Eurasian country, with parts in both continents. Because Eurasia is not a continent per se, Russia is considered as European here because it is more commonly associated with that continent than with Asia.