POLITICAL DICTIONARY

vanguard

the foremost part of an advancing army. Used figuratively to refer to being opinion leaders. The Republicans might claim, for example, that since they captured the House and Senate in the elections of November, 1994, they are in the vanguard of social policy and change.

Vatican Councils

major pronouncements of the Roman Catholic church about the nature of the faith. The first Vatican Council was held in 1869-70. it declared the personal infallibility of the pope when speaking ex cathedra to be a dogma of the church. The second Vatican Council, 1962-65, was notable for its ecumenical and liberalizing spirit. It made a more positive evaluation of the value of other faiths: they could also be channels for God's grace; salvation could be attained by non-Christians.

vendetta

prolonged bitter hostility.

veto

to cancel or make void (legislation, etc.) The president of the U.S. has a veto power over legislation that Congress passes to him for signing.

vicious circle

a situation in which the solution to one problem merely gives rise to another problem, and the solution to that problem leads back to the first problem, often in a more acute form. An example might be a woman who suffers from domestic violence. In order to solve the problem she leaves her husband, but then she finds herself with another problem: where to live, how to survive. The solution may force her back to her original situation. She is trapped in a vicious circle.

vigilante

self-appointed individual or group that takes on the responsibility for maintaining law and order in a community, when the normal channels have become ineffective. Vigilante groups have been a feature of life in the troubled areas of Northern Ireland, for example, for over 20 years.

visa

an endorsement on a passport that shows that the holder has a legal right to enter a specific country.

vox populi

a Latin expression meaning "voice of the people", with implications that popular sentiment is theoretically at one with the divine will. It was usually thought to have occurred during times of crisis when the voice or opinion of the people was made manifest or became evident; monarchs have been dethroned, governments toppled, and revolutions started in the name of vox populi.