Everything about Status Quo totally explained
Status quo is a
Latin term meaning the present, existing state of affairs. To maintain the status quo is to keep the things the way they currently are. The related phrase
status quo ante, means "the state of things as it was before."
Political Usage
In 19th-century diplomatic Latin, the original sentence was
in statu quo res erant ante bellum "in the state in which things were before the war". This gave rise to the shorter form
status quo ante bellum "the state in which (it was) before the war", indicating the withdrawal of enemy troops and restoration of power to prewar leadership, as well as other variations, such as
status quo itself.
Arguing to preserve the status quo is usually done in the context of opposing a large, often
radical change. The term frequently refers to the status of a large issue, such as the current culture or social climate of an entire
society or
nation.
Politicians sometimes refer to a status quo. Often there's a policy of deliberate ambiguity, referring to the status quo rather than formalizing the status. An example of political ambiguity is the
political status of Taiwan.
Clark Kerr is reported to have said, "The status quo is the only
solution that can't be
vetoed," meaning that the status quo can't simply be decided against; action must be taken if it's to change.
Sometimes specific institutions are founded to actively maintain the status quo. The
United Nations, for example, was intended to help solidify the peaceful international status quo that immediately followed
World War II.
Other Usages
In non-episodic entertainment, particularly United States TV
sitcoms, the "status quo" is nearly always restored at the end of an episode, giving each episode an effectively self-contained
plot or
story. This assures that the following episode may begin from the same starting point, eliminating the need for the viewer to have knowledge of prior plot elements or to experience particular episodes in the correct order. This has been an essential rule of nearly all non-episodic TV shows since their inception, with all drastic changes usually happening in the premiere or finale of a given season, allowing the creative team to set up a "new" status quo. In recent years, however, this rule has softened, as even many sitcoms have started to develop stories and deepen character relationships over the course of a season.
In
Israel, the term refers to an informal agreement conducted in 1947 between the secular leadership of the Zionist movement in
Palestine and leaders of the true authentic
Orthodox Jews, which created a framework for the establishment of the country. This agreement lays out ground rules for the relationship between state and religion in four major issues:
Shabbat, education,
Kashrut, and matrimonial law. It has been more or less maintained throughout the country's existence. It might also refer to the arrangement formalized in 1852 for the division of custodianship among a number of Christian communities for various important Christian holy sites of the
Holy Land.
Quotes
Laurence J. Peter is reported to have said, "
Bureaucracy defends the status quo long past the time when the quo has lost its status."
Peter Senge (1999) "...collaboration is vital to sustain what we call profound or really deep change, because without it, organizations are just overwhelmed by the forces of the status quo."
Further Information
Get more info on 'Status Quo'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://status_quo.totallyexplained.com">Status quo Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |