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Politics is the activity of settling affairs in an organized society. Politics is usually concerned with resolving issues within a society via a government. Politicians are individuals engaged in the activity of politics. The branch of social science that studies politics and government is referred to as political science.
A variety of methods are deployed in politics, which include promoting one's own political views among people, negotiation with other political subjects, making laws, and exercising internal and external force, including warfare against adversaries. Politics is exercised on a wide range of social levels, from clans and tribes of traditional societies, through modern local governments, companies and institutions up to sovereign states, to the international level.
In modern states, people often form political parties to represent their ideas. Members of a party often agree to take the same position on many issues and agree to support the same changes to law and the same leaders. An election is usually a competition between different parties.
A political system is a framework which defines acceptable political methods within a society. The history of political thought can be traced back to early antiquity, with seminal works such as Plato's Republic, Aristotle's Politics, Confucius's political manuscripts and Chanakya's Arthashastra.
Politics may be used positively in the context of a "political solution" which is compromising and non-violent, or descriptively as "the art or science of government", but the word often also carries a negative connotation. (Full article...)
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Regulamentul Organic (Romanian: [reɡulaˈmentul orˈɡanik], English: Organic Regulation; French: Règlement Organique; Russian: Органический регламент, romanized: Organichesky reglament) was a quasi-constitutional organic law enforced in 1831–1832 by the Imperial Russian authorities in Moldavia and Wallachia (the two Danubian Principalities that were to become the basis of the modern Romanian state). The document partially confirmed the traditional government, including rule by the hospodars, and set up a common Russian protectorate which lasted until 1854. The Regulament itself remained in force until 1858. Conservative in its scope, it also engendered a period of unprecedented reforms which provided a setting for the Westernization of the local society. The Regulament offered the two Principalities their first common system of government.
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Dr. Javier Solana was the High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy and the Secretary-General of both the Council of the European Union (EU) and the Western European Union (WEU). This photograph shows him discussing with students of RWTH Aachen University, one day before receiving the International Charlemagne Prize of the city of Aachen.
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The chief minister of Tamil Nadu is the head of government of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. In accordance with the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's de jure head, while the de facto authority rests with the chief minister. Following elections to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, the state's governor usually invites the party (or coalition) with the majority of seats in the assembly to form the government. The governor appoints the chief minister, whose council of ministers are collectively responsible to the assembly. Given that the chief minister has the confidence of the assembly, the chief minister's term is for five years and is subject to no term limits.
Since 1950, Tamil Nadu has had 14 chief ministers. The first four chief ministers belonged to the Indian National Congress, of which K. Kamaraj held the post for the longest, for more than nine years. With the rise of Dravidian parties in the state, C. N. Annadurai of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) became the first non-Congress chief minister in 1969. Annadurai was from the Tamil film industry, and since his tenure, a significant number of the state's chief ministers have hailed from the industry. (Full article...)
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations is a voluntary association of 56 sovereign states, referred to as Commonwealth countries. Most of them were British colonies or dependencies of those colonies.
No government in the Commonwealth exercises power over the others, as is the case in a political union. Rather, the Commonwealth is an international organisation in which countries with diverse social, political, and economic backgrounds are regarded as equal in status, and cooperate within a framework of common values and goals, as outlined in the Singapore Declaration issued in 1971. Such common values and goals include the promotion of democracy, human rights, good governance, the rule of law, civil liberties, equality before the law, free trade, multilateralism, and world peace, which are promoted through multilateral projects and meetings, such as the Commonwealth Games, held once every four years. (Full article...)- The U.S. state of Alabama has 67 counties. Each county serves as the local level of Alabama government within its borders. The land enclosed by the present state borders was joined to the United States of America gradually. Following the American Revolutionary War, West Florida was ceded to Spain by treaty while the remainder was organized primarily as the Mississippi Territory, and later the Alabama Territory. The territorial assembly established some of the earliest county divisions that have survived to the present, including the earliest county formation, that of Washington County, created on June 4, 1800. In 1814, the Treaty of Fort Jackson opened the territory to American settlers, which in turn led to a more rapid rate of county creation. Alabama was admitted to the Union as the 22nd state in 1819. The Alabama state legislature formed additional counties from former native lands as the Indian Removal Act took effect and settlers populated different areas of Alabama. In 1820, Alabama had 29 counties. By 1830 there were 36 and Native Americans still occupied large areas of land in northeast and far western Alabama. By 1840, 49 counties had been created; 52 by 1850; 65 by 1870; and the present 67 counties by 1903. Houston County was the last county created in the state, on February 9, 1903.
According to 2025 U.S. Census data, the average population of Alabama's 67 counties is 77,509, with Jefferson County as the most populous (665,742), and Greene County (7,067) the least. The average land area is 756 sq mi (1,958 km2). The largest county is Baldwin (1,590 sq mi, 4,118 km2) and the smallest is Etowah (535 sq mi, 1,386 km2). The Constitution of Alabama requires that any new county in Alabama cover at least 600 square miles (1,600 km2) in area, effectively limiting the creation of new counties in the state. (Full article...)
Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office is the title of the official resident cat at 10 Downing Street, the residence and office of the prime minister of the United Kingdom in London.
There has been a resident cat in the British government employed as a mouser and pet since the 16th century, although modern records date only to the 1920s. Despite other cats having served Downing Street, the first one to be given the official title of chief mouser by the British government was Larry in 2011. Other cats have been given this title affectionately, usually by the British press, and the cats are often portrayed in jest as being actual employees involved in the government's internal politics. (Full article...)- Below is a list of the premiers of the province of Ontario, Canada, since Confederation in 1867. Ontario uses a unicameral Westminster-style parliamentary government, in which the premier is the leader of the party that controls the most seats in the Legislative Assembly. The premier is Ontario's head of government. The premier picks a cabinet from the elected members to form the Executive Council of Ontario, and presides over that body.
Members are first elected to the legislature during general elections. General elections must be conducted every four years from the date of the last election. An election may also happen if the Governing party loses the confidence of the legislature, by the defeat of a supply bill or tabling of a confidence motion. (Full article...) - The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada. It was established by the Parliament of Canada through the Supreme and Exchequer Court Act in 1875. Since 1949, the Court has been the final court of appeal in the Canadian justice system. Originally composed of six justices (the Chief Justice of Canada and five puisne justices), the Court was expanded to seven justices by the creation of an additional puisne justice position in 1927, and then to nine justices by the creation of two more puisne justice positions in 1949.
The justices are appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister. When a chief justice leaves office, the vacancy is traditionally filled by elevating an incumbent puisne justice to the position, which requires a separate appointment process. The first six justices of the Court were all appointed in 1875 by Governor General the Earl of Dufferin, on the advice of Prime Minister Alexander Mackenzie. (Full article...) - The history of post-confederation Canada began on July 1, 1867, when the British North American colonies of Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia were united to form a single Dominion within the British Empire. Upon Confederation, the Province of Canada was immediately split into the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. In 1870, Canada acquired the vast expanse of the continent controlled by the Hudson's Bay Company, which was eventually divided into new territories and provinces. British Columbia joined in 1871, and Prince Edward Island in 1873. Canada evolved into a fully sovereign state by 1982.
Before being part of British North America, the constituents of Canada consisted of the former colonies of Canada and Acadia from within New France which had been ceded to Great Britain in 1763 as part of the Treaty of Paris. French Canadian nationality was maintained as one of the "two founding nations" and legally through the Quebec Act which ensured the maintenance of the Canadian French language, Catholic religion, and French civil law within Canada, a fact which remains true today. (Full article...) 
There are 120 counties in the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky. Despite ranking 37th in size by area, Kentucky has 120 counties, fourth among states (including Virginia's independent cities). The original motivation for having so many counties was to ensure that residents in the days of poor roads and horseback travel could make a round trip from their home to the county seat in a single day, as well as being able to travel from one county seat to the next in the same fashion. Later, however, politics began to play a part, with citizens who disagreed with their county government petitioning the state to create a new county. Today, 22 of the 120 counties have fewer than 10,000 residents, and half have fewer than 20,000. The 20 largest counties by population all have populations of 50,000 or higher, and just 8 of the 120 have a population of 100,000 or higher. The average county population, based on the estimated 2025 state population of 4.606 million, was 38,391.
Following concerns of too many counties, the 1891 Kentucky Constitution placed stricter limits on county creation, stipulating that a new county:- must have a land area of at least 400 square miles (1,036 km2);
- must have a population of at least 12,000 people;
- must not by its creation reduce the land area of an existing county to less than 400 square miles;
- must not by its creation reduce the population of an existing county to fewer than 12,000 people;
- must not create a county boundary line that passes within 10 miles (16 kilometers) of an existing county seat.
These regulations have reined in the proliferation of counties in Kentucky. Since the 1891 Constitution, only McCreary County has been legally created, in 1912. The General Assembly's creation of Beckham County in 1904 was ruled unconstitutional. Because today's largest county by area, Pike County, is 788 square miles (2,041 km2), it is only still possible to form a new county from portions of more than one existing county; McCreary County was formed in this manner, from parts of Wayne, Pulaski and Whitley counties. (Full article...)- This is a list of sovereign states without armed forces. Dependent territories (such as Bermuda, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands) whose defence is the responsibility of another country, or an army alternative are excluded. The term armed forces refers to any government-sponsored defense used to further the domestic and foreign policies of their respective government. Some of the countries listed, such as Iceland and Monaco, have no standing armies but still have a non-police military force.
Many of the 21 countries listed here typically have had a long-standing agreement with a former colonial or protecting power; one example of the latter is the agreement between Monaco and France, which has existed for at least 300 years.
Similarly, the Compact of Free Association countries of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), the Marshall Islands, and Palau rely on the United States for their defence. They ensure their national security concerns are addressed through annual Joint Committee Meetings to discuss defence matters with the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. Andorra can request defensive aid if necessary, while Iceland has a unique agreement since 1951 with the United States which requires them to provide defence to Iceland when needed, although permanent armed forces have not been stationed there since 2006. (Full article...) - There are ten counties in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. Five of the counties were created in 1769, when New Hampshire was still an English colony and not a state, during the first subdivision of the state into counties. The last counties created were Belknap County and Carroll County, in 1840.
Seven of New Hampshire's counties were named for prominent British or American people. Two are named after geographic locations. At least one county's name originates in a Native American language: Coös County, named for an Algonquian word meaning "small pines". Merrimack County, which is named after the river, may originate in a Native American language as well, but the etymology of the river's name is uncertain. (Full article...) - The governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the head of government of Kentucky and serves as commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws; the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Kentucky General Assembly; the power to convene the legislature; and the power to grant pardons, except in cases of treason and impeachment. The governor is also empowered to reorganize the state government or reduce it in size. Historically, the office has been regarded as one of the most powerful executive positions in the United States.
Fifty-nine individuals have held the office of governor. Prior to a 1992 amendment to the state's constitution, the governor was prohibited from succeeding himself or herself in office, though four men (Isaac Shelby, John L. Helm, James B. McCreary and Happy Chandler) served multiple non-consecutive terms. Paul E. Patton, the first Kentucky governor eligible for a second consecutive term under the amendment, won his reelection bid in 1999. James Garrard succeeded himself in 1800, before the constitutional provision existed. Garrard is also the longest serving governor, serving for a total period of eight years and 90 days. In 2023 Democrat Andy Beshear became the 3rd incumbent governor in Kentucky history to be reelected to a second consecutive term. (Full article...)
The Cabinet of the United States, which is the principal advisory body to the president of the United States, has had 72 female members altogether, with eight of them serving in multiple positions for a total of 80 cabinet appointments. Of that number, 43 different women held a total of 46 permanent cabinet posts, having served as the vice president or heads of the federal executive departments; 34 more women held cabinet-level positions, which can differ under each president; and five officeholders served in both cabinet and cabinet-rank roles. No woman held a presidential cabinet position before the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920, which prohibits the federal government or any state from denying citizens the right to vote on the basis of sex.
Frances Perkins became the first woman to serve in a president's cabinet when she was appointed Secretary of Labor by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933. Patricia Roberts Harris was the first African-American woman and the first woman of color to serve in a presidential cabinet when she was named Secretary of Housing and Urban Development by President Jimmy Carter in 1977. Two years later, Carter tapped her for Secretary of Health and Human Services, therefore making her the first woman to hold two different cabinet positions. Madeleine Albright, who was born in Czechoslovakia, became the first foreign-born woman to serve in a president's cabinet when she was picked by President Bill Clinton for United States Ambassador to the United Nations, a cabinet-rank position, in 1993. She was elevated to Secretary of State four years later, during Clinton's second term, thus making her, at the time, the highest-ranking woman in the history of the federal government. (Full article...)
In Australian federal politics, the leader of the Opposition is an elected member of parliament (MP) in the Australian House of Representatives who leads the Opposition. The leader of the Opposition, by convention, is the leader of the largest political party in the House of Representatives that is not in government.
When in Parliament, the opposition leader sits on the left-hand side of the centre table, in front of the opposition and opposite of the prime minister. The opposition leader is elected by their party according to its rules. A new leader of the opposition may be elected when the incumbent dies, resigns, or is challenged for the leadership. (Full article...)
Map of countries and territories with Taiwanese diplomatic missions Has formal embassyHas representative missionsFormerly had missions
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China, has 112 diplomatic and representative missions across the world as of December 2024. Because many countries have a One China Policy that acknowledges the existence of a single China with varying attitudes toward Taiwan's status, no country simultaneously holds diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the People's Republic of China. As most countries have changed their recognition to the latter over time, only 13 of Taiwan's diplomatic missions have official status, consisting of twelve embassies and one Apostolic Nunciature. This makes Taiwan one of the few countries in the world that has resident embassies in all of the states with which it has formal diplomatic relations.
Despite these barriers, about 60 United Nations members maintain relations with Taiwan on an unofficial basis. In addition, Taiwan has official relations with the Order of Malta, a UN observer entity and Somaliland, a state with limited recognition. To serve these locations and other places throughout the world, 91 semi-official representative offices are utilized for matters that would otherwise be handled by embassies or consulates. Their heads are still appointed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, making them de facto missions. Owing to pressure from the People's Republic, most of these offices cannot operate under either the country's official or common name, using the name of the capital Taipei instead to avoid addressing Taiwan's political status. There have recently been two notable exceptions to this; the offices in Somaliland (opened 2020) and Lithuania (2021) use "Taiwan" in their names. Taiwan also maintains permanent missions to the European Union and the World Trade Organization, with the latter under the name "Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu". (Full article...)
Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected Pope Francis by the conclave on 13 March 2013.
The papal conclave of 2013 was convened to elect a pope, the leader of the Catholic Church, to succeed Benedict XVI following his resignation on 28 February 2013. In accordance with the apostolic constitution Universi Dominici gregis, which governed the vacancy of the Holy See, only cardinals who had not passed their 80th birthday on the day on which the Holy See became vacant (in this case, those who were born on or after 28 February 1933) were eligible to participate in the conclave. Although not a formal requirement, the cardinal electors almost always elect the pope from among their number. The election was carried out by secret ballot (Latin: per scrutinium).
Of the 207 members of the College of Cardinals at the time of Benedict XVI's resignation, 117 cardinal electors were eligible to participate in the subsequent conclave. Two cardinal electors did not participate, decreasing the number of participants to 115. The required two-thirds supermajority needed to elect a pope was 77 votes. (Full article...)
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John Sidney McCain III (1936-2018) was the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election. During the Vietnam War, he nearly lost his life in the 1967 USS Forrestal fire. In October 1967, while on a bombing mission over Hanoi, he was shot down, seriously injured, and captured by the North Vietnamese. He was a prisoner of war until 1973. McCain experienced episodes of torture, and refused an out-of-sequence early repatriation offer. His war wounds left him with lifelong physical limitations. While generally adhering to conservative principles, McCain at times has had a media reputation as a "maverick" for his willingness to disagree with his party on certain issues. He secured the Republican nomination in 2008 after coming back from early reversals, but lost to Democratic candidate Barack Obama in the general election.
Did you know (auto-generated) -
- ... that the Polish subgenre of speculative fiction known as klerykal fiction emerged in the 1990s as a response to societal fears of church influence in politics?
- ... that a co-founder of Braver Angels designed their Red/Blue political depolarization workshops based on couples therapy?
- ... that in 1850s New Orleans, the French revolutionary Joseph Déjacque called for black slaves and the white working class to overthrow the United States in a social revolution?
- ... that Ye Gongchuo worked for emperors, warlords and republicans before leaving politics to focus on art?
- ... that Samuel S. Mayerberg was targeted in a drive-by shooting in 1932 for criticizing political boss Tom Pendergast?
- ... that upon winning a civil war in Portuguese Timor, the political party Fretilin repeatedly requested that Portuguese authorities return?
More did you know...
- ...that Thutmose I was the first Pharaoh to be buried in the Valley of the Kings?
- ...that Mussolini's Quota 90 fixed the lira exchange rate against the pound sterling at the prevailing rate from five years earlier, when he assumed power?
- ...that the energy lobby contributed 19 million dollars to United States political campaigns in the 2006 election cycle?
- ...that the lifelong Democrat Jim Naugle is in his sixth straight term as the Mayor of Fort Lauderdale and supported only Republicans for President since 1968?
- ...that Nunez Community College in Chalmette, Louisiana, is named for the late wife of former Louisiana State Senate President Samuel B. Nunez, Jr.?
- ...that when the Tennessee Center for Policy Research, a "free-market think tank," criticized Al Gore's energy use, CNN mistakenly called the organization an environmental group?
In this month
- August 3, 2005 – Mahmoud Ahmadinejad takes office as the 6th President of Iran.
- August 3, 2006 – Tuvalu holds parliamentary elections.
- August 19, 1953 – Cold War: The CIA helps to overthrow the government of Mohammed Mossadegh in Iran, and retain Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi on the throne (see Operation Ajax).
- August 29, 2008 – Sarah Palin becomes the first female Republican Party nominee for Vice President of the United States.
Political news
- 12 August 2026 – 2026 Cook Islands general election
- Cook Islanders vote to elect all 24 seats of Parliament amid a cost-of-living crisis and debate regarding a past partnership agreement with China. Incumbent prime minister Mark Brown faces a challenge from Cook Islands United leader Teariki Heather. (RNZ) (The Guardian)
- 11 August 2026 – Presidency of Ahmed al-Sharaa, War crimes in the Syrian civil war
- The Criminal Court in Damascus, Syria, sentences deposed president Bashar al-Assad and his brother Maher to death in absentia, and former Daraa political security director Atef Najib in person, and issue international arrest warrants for all for premeditated murder and crimes against humanity. (AFP via The Standard) (The National)
- 11 August 2026 –
- The Lebanese parliament votes to abolish the death penalty. (BBC News)
- 11 August 2026 – 2026 Hungarian presidential election
- Former Supreme Court president András Baka is elected as Hungarian president through a supermajority and is scheduled to take office on 19 August. He ran uncontested as the Tisza Party's candidate, as neither Fidesz nor its partner KNDP nominated a candidate. (Reuters)
- 10 August 2026 – 2026 Russian legislative election
- Upon petition from Rodina, the liberal Yabloko party is barred from participating in the 2026 Russian legislative election on charges of unregistered funding, a controversial copyright infringement, and extremism by the Supreme Court of Russia. (The Guardian) (The Moscow Times)
Topics and categories
See the portal's Topics and categories page for a comprehensive overview.
General images
The following are images from various politics-related articles on Wikipedia.
Malaysia's former Prime Minister Najib Razak was found guilty in the corruption trial over the multi-billion-dollar 1MDB scandal. He is currently serving his sentence in Kajang Prison. (from Political corruption)
The logo and slogan for change.org (from Politics and technology)
Ferdinand Marcos (pictured with his daughter Imee) was a Philippine dictator and kleptocrat. His regime was infamous for its corruption. (from Political corruption)
Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders campaigning for extended US Medicare coverage in 2017. (from Health politics)
American lobbyist and businessman Jack Abramoff was at the center of an extensive corruption investigation. (from Political corruption)
Savka Dabčević-Kučar, Croatian Spring participant; Europe's first female prime minister (from Civil and political rights)
Detail from Corrupt Legislation (1896) by Elihu Vedder. Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington, D.C. (from Political corruption)
A memorial to the Great Famine (Ireland), a famine event in Ireland that faced prolonged suffering from the UK's domestic policy failures at the time under the Prime Ministers Sir Robert Peel and Lord John Russell. (from Health politics)
Countries with politicians, public officials or close associates implicated in the Panama Papers leak on April 15, 2016 (from Political corruption)
The sixth president of the United States, John Quincy Adams' "corrupt bargain" of 1824 is an example of patronage. (from Political corruption)
Eugène Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People (1830, Louvre), a painting created at a time where old and modern political philosophies came into violent conflict (from History of political thought)
This is the divide of the different political parties in Estonia where in the 2013 elections, over 133,000 people (roughly 21.2% of participating voters) voted over the Internet. The 2013 elections were also the first elections to allow vote verification with mobile devices. (from Politics and technology)
Montenegro's former president Milo Đukanović is often described as having strong links to Montenegrin mafia. (from Political corruption)
Sir Halford Mackinder's Heartland concept showing the situation of the "pivot area" established in the Theory of the Heartland. He later revised it to mark Northern Eurasia as a pivot while keeping area marked above as Heartland. (from Geopolitics)
US Military Police officer restraining and sedating prisoner while a soldier holds him down (from Political corruption)
Russia handing over the symbolic relay baton for the hosting rights of the 2022 FIFA World Cup to Qatar in June 2018 (from Political corruption)
Candlelight protest against South Korean President Park Geun-hye in Seoul, South Korea, January 2017 (from Political corruption)
Reformers like the American Joseph Keppler depicted the Senate as controlled by the giant moneybags, who represented the nation's financial trusts and monopolies. (from Political corruption)
Division of the world according to Haushofer's pan-regions doctrine (from Geopolitics)
The Flag of the United Nations fly at United Nations Plaza in the Civic Center, San Francisco, California. The UN is one of the key organizations in the process of the political globalization. (from Political globalization)
A world map distinguishing countries of the world as federations (green) from unitary states (blue), a work of political science (from Political science)
Karl Marx and his theory of Communism, developed with Friedrich Engels, proved to be one of the most influential political ideologies of the 20th century. (from History of political thought)
Portrait of Constant c. 1820 (from History of political thought)
World map with the concepts of Heartland and Rimland applied (from Geopolitics)
Protesters in support of American whistleblower Edward Snowden, Berlin, Germany, August 2014 (from Political corruption)
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