Portal:Politics

The Politics portal

Politics (from Ancient Greek πολιτικά (politiká) 'affairs of the cities') is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of status or resources. The branch of social science that studies politics and government is referred to as political science.

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. The concept has been defined in various ways, and different approaches have fundamentally differing views on whether it should be used extensively or in a limited way, empirically or normatively, and on whether conflict or co-operation is more essential to it.

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 nation 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. (Full article...)

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The Act of Independence of Lithuania was signed by the Council of Lithuania on 16 February 1918, proclaiming the restoration of an independent State of Lithuania, governed by democratic principles, with Vilnius as its capital. The act was signed by all twenty members of the council, chaired by Jonas Basanavičius. The act of 16 February was the end result of a series of resolutions on the issue, including one issued by the Vilnius Conference and the act of 8 January. The path to the act was long and complex because the German Empire exerted pressure on the council to form an alliance. The Council had to carefully manoeuvre between the Germans, whose troops were present in Lithuania, and the demands of the Lithuanian people. While the act's original document has been lost, its legacy continues. The laconic act is the legal basis for the existence of modern Lithuania, both during the interwar period and since 1990. The act formulated the basic constitutional principles that were and still are followed by all Constitutions of Lithuania. The act itself was a key element in the foundation of Lithuania's Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania, adopted on 11 March 1990. Lithuania, breaking away from the Soviet Union, stressed that it was simply re-establishing the independent state that existed between the world wars and that the act never lost its legal power.

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Annkathrin Kammeyer (born 1990) is a German Social Democratic politician. She became a Member of the Hamburg Parliament on 7 March 2011, the youngest person ever elected to that body.

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Ron DeSantis has been governor since January 8, 2019.

The governor of Florida is the head of government of the U.S. state of Florida. The governor is the head of the executive branch of the government of Florida and is the commander-in-chief of the Florida National Guard.

The current officeholder is Ron DeSantis, a member of the Republican Party who took office on January 8, 2019. (Full article...)
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The governor of Utah is the head of government of Utah and the commander-in-chief of its military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws as well as the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Utah Legislature. The governor may also convene the legislature on "extraordinary occasions".

The self-proclaimed State of Deseret, precursor to the organization of the Utah Territory, had only one governor, Brigham Young. Utah Territory had 15 territorial governors from its organization in 1850 until the formation of the state of Utah in 1896, appointed by the President of the United States. John W. Dawson had the shortest term of only three weeks and Brigham Young, the first territorial governor, had the longest term at seven years. (Full article...)
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According to the Organic Law of Regional Governments, the regions (Spanish: regiones) are, with the departments, the first-level semi autonomous administrative subdivisions of Peru. Since its 1821 independence, Peru had been divided into departments (Regions)

Peru’s 24 departments each have a regional government and legislature responsible for administration, economic planning, and public services. These governments operate with autonomy while still coordinating with national authorities. Each department is led by a regional governor, who is elected by popular vote for a four-year term. The governor is responsible for implementing regional policies, managing budgets, and overseeing infrastructure projects. Supporting the governor is the regional legislative council, composed of elected representatives from different provinces within the department. This council approves budgets, monitors public investments, and ensures government accountability. (Full article...)
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There are fourteen counties in the U.S. state of Vermont. These counties together contain 255 political units, or places, including 237 towns, 10 cities, 5 unincorporated areas, and 4 gores. Each county has a county seat, often referred to as a "shire town."

In 1779, Vermont had two counties. The western side of the state was Bennington County and the eastern was Cumberland County. In 1781, three new counties (including then-called Washington that became part of New Hampshire) were created out of Cumberland County, and the remainder of the county was renamed Windham.
Today's Washington County was created in 1810 as Jefferson County; it was renamed Washington in 1814. (Full article...)
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The leader of the Official Opposition (French: chef de l'Opposition officielle), sometimes known as the leader of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition (French: chef de la loyale opposition de Sa Majesté), is the politician who leads the Official Opposition in Canada. This is typically the leader of the party possessing the most seats in the House of Commons that is neither the governing party nor part of a governing coalition.

Pierre Poilievre has been the leader of the Opposition since September 10, 2022, when he was elected leader of the Conservative Party of Canada in the party's leadership election. (Full article...)
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Bombay Presidency in 1906

Until the 18th century, Bombay consisted of seven islands separated by shallow sea. These seven islands were part of a larger archipelago in the Arabian sea, off the western coast of India. The date of city's founding is unclear—historians trace back urban settlement to the late 17th century after the British secured the seven islands from the Portuguese to establish a secure base in the region. The islands provided the British with a sheltered harbour for trade, in addition to a relatively sequestered location that reduced the chances of land-based attacks. Over the next two centuries, the British dominated the region, first securing the archipelago from the Portuguese, and later defeating the Marathas to secure the hinterland.

Bombay Presidency was one of the three Presidencies of British India; the other two being Madras Presidency, and Bengal Presidency. It was in the centre-west of the Indian subcontinent on the Arabian Sea. It was bordered to the north-west, north, and north-east by Baluchistan province, Punjab province, and Rajputana Agency; to the east by Central India Agency, the Central Provinces and Berar and Hyderabad State; and to the south by Madras Presidency and Mysore State. The Presidency was established in the late 17th century and named after Bombay, the capital city and the island on which it was built. By 1906, the area under the jurisdiction of Bombay Presidency stretched from North Canara in the south to Sindh in the north, encompassing the now-Pakistani province of Sindh, some parts of the present-day state of Gujarat, northwestern part of Karnataka state, the British Aden protectorate in Yemen, and the western two-thirds of modern-day Maharashtra. (Full article...)
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█ ASEAN full member states

█ ASEAN candidate member state

█ ASEAN observer state

██ ASEAN Plus Three

███ East Asia Summit

██████ ASEAN Regional Forum

As of 2010^[update], the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has 10 member states, one candidate member state, and one observer state.

ASEAN was founded on 8 August 1967 with five member states: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. It is headquartered in Jakarta. (Full article...)
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The contracting states to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) are the states that have signed and ratified the international agreement banning all nuclear explosions in all environments. Technically they will not be "parties" until the treaty enters into force, at which point these states will also be Member States of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), which comes into existence upon entry into force of the treaty. Non-contracting states are also listed, including those that are signatories and those are not. States Signatories are Members of the CTBTO Preparatory Commission.

On September 24, 1996, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) was opened for signature. All five nuclear weapons states recognized under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) signed the treaty, with 66 other states following that day. Fiji became the first state to ratify the treaty on October 10, 1996. As of November 2024, 187 states have signed and 178 states have ratified the treaty. Most recently, Papua New Guinea ratified the treaty in March 2024. (Full article...)

The Seal of the State of Alaska

The governor of Alaska (Iñupiaq: Alaaskam kavanaa) is the head of government of Alaska. The governor is the chief executive of the state and is the holder of the highest office in the executive branch of the government as well as being the commander in chief of the Alaska's state forces.

Twelve people have served as governor of the State of Alaska over 14 distinct terms, though Alaska had over 30 civilian and military governors during its long history as a United States territory. Only two governors, William A. Egan and Bill Walker, were born in Alaska. Two people, Egan and Wally Hickel, have been elected to multiple non-consecutive terms as governor. Hickel is also noted for a rare third party win in American politics, having been elected to a term in 1990 representing the Alaskan Independence Party. The longest-serving governor of the state was Egan, who was elected three times and served nearly 12 years. The longest-serving territorial governor was Ernest Gruening, who served over 13 years. (Full article...)

Emblem of Tamil Nadu

The chief minister of Tamil Nadu is the chief executive of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. In accordance with the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's de jure head, but de facto executive 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 a majority of seats to form the government. The governor appoints the chief minister, whose council of ministers are collectively responsible to the assembly. Given that he has the confidence of the assembly, the chief minister's term is for five years and is subject to no term limits.

Since 1952, Tamil Nadu has had 12 chief ministers, 13 including V. R. Nedunchezhiyan, who twice acted in the role. The longest-serving chief minister, M. Karunanidhi from Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam held the office for over eighteen years in multiple tenures, while he was the one who had the largest gap between two terms (nearly thirteen years). The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's former general secretary J. Jayalalithaa has the second-longest tenure, and its founder M. G. Ramachandran, the first actor to become the chief minister in India has the third-longest tenure, while his wife V. N. Janaki Ramachandran has the shortest tenure (only 23 days). K. Kamaraj resigned his post of his own free will and devoted all of his energy to the revitalization of the Indian National Congress party; he was responsible for the elevation of Lal Bahadur Shastri to the position of Prime Minister of the Republic of India following the death of Jawaharlal Nehru and of Indira Gandhi following the death of Lal Bahadur Shastri. C. Rajagopalachari served as the last Governor-General of the Union of India before becoming chief minister of undivided Madras State. There have been four instances of president's rule in Tamil Nadu, most recently in 1991. (Full article...)

This list of governors of Puerto Rico includes all persons who have held that post, either under Spanish or American rule. The governor of Puerto Rico is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The position was first established by the Spanish Empire during the 16th century following the archipelago's colonization.

The first person to officially occupy the position was Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León in 1509.
At the time, the Spanish monarchy was responsible for appointing the functionary who would perform this office. The first native Puerto Rican to perform the function was Juan Ponce de León II, as interim governor in 1579. During this administration, all of those appointed to take the position had served another function within the empire's government or the Roman Catholic Church. In 1898, the United States invaded Puerto Rico and the Spanish government ceded control of the island to the United States. During the first two years, the entire government in Puerto Rico was appointed by the president of the United States. In 1900, the American government approved the establishment of the Foraker Act as a federal law, this act established a civilian government in the island. In 1947, the federal Elective Governor Act was enacted, which created a new system where, since 1948, the governor is elected through a democratic process every four years. The governor is in charge of Puerto Rico's executive branch and is responsible for appointing executive branch agency heads, including the Secretary of State, who fulfills the role of lieutenant governor, the legislative branch's ombudsman and comptroller and all judges in the judicial branch. (Full article...)

The national president of the Indian National Congress is the chief executive of the Indian National Congress (INC), one of the principal political parties in India. Constitutionally, the president is elected by an electoral college composed of members drawn from the Pradesh Congress Committees and members of the All India Congress Committee (AICC). In the event of any emergency because of any cause such as the death or resignation of the president elected as above, the most senior general secretary discharges the routine functions of the president until the Working Committee appoints a provisional president pending the election of a regular president by the AICC. The president of the party has effectively been the party's national leader, head of the party's organisation, head of the Working Committee, the chief spokesman, and all chief Congress committees.

After the party's foundation in December 1885, Womesh Chandra Banerjee became its first president. From 1885 to 1933, the presidency had a term of one year only. From 1933 onwards, there was no such fixed term for the president. During Jawaharlal Nehru's premiership, he rarely held the Presidency of INC, even though he was always head of the Parliamentary Party. Despite being a party with a structure, Congress under Indira Gandhi did not hold any organisational elections after 1978. In 1978, Gandhi split from the INC and formed a new opposition party, popularly called Congress (I), which the national election commission declared to be the real Indian National Congress for the 1980 general election. Gandhi institutionalised the practice of having the same person as the Congress president and the prime minister of India after the formation of Congress (I). Her successors Rajiv Gandhi and P. V. Narasimha Rao also continued that practice. Nonetheless, in 2004, when the Congress was voted back into power, Manmohan Singh became the first and only prime minister not to be the president of the party since establishment of the practice of the president holding both positions. (Full article...)

Seal of the governor

The governor of Pennsylvania is the head of government of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, as well as commander-in-chief of the state's national guard.

The governor has a duty to enforce state laws and the power to approve or veto bills passed by the Pennsylvania General Assembly, as well as to convene the legislature. The governor may grant pardons except in cases of impeachment, but only when recommended by the Board of Pardons. (Full article...)

The Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis, which houses the office of the governor

The governor of Indiana is the head of government of the U.S. state of Indiana. The governor is the head of the executive branch of Indiana's state government and is charged with enforcing state laws.

While a territory, Indiana had two governors appointed by the president of the United States. Since statehood in 1816, it has had 49 governors, serving 51 distinct terms; Isaac P. Gray and Henry F. Schricker are the only governors to have served non-consecutive terms. Four governors have served two four-year terms; territorial governor William Henry Harrison served for 11 years. The shortest-serving governor is Henry S. Lane, who served two days before resigning to become a U.S. senator. The current governor is Mike Braun, who took office on January 13, 2025. (Full article...)

Alberta is the fourth-most populous province in Canada with 4,262,635 residents as of 2021 Census of Population and is the fourth-largest in land area at 634,658 km² (245,043 sq mi). Alberta's 344 municipalities cover 99.7% of the province's land mass and are home to 99% of its population. These municipalities provide local government services, including roads, water, sewer and garbage collection among others, and a variety of programs to their residents.

According to the Municipal Government Act (MGA), which was enacted in 2000, a municipality in Alberta is "a city, town, village, summer village, municipal district or specialized municipality, a town under the Parks Towns Act, or a municipality formed by special Act". The MGA also recognizes improvement districts and special areas as municipal authorities while Metis settlements are recognized as municipalities by the Government of Alberta's Ministry of Municipal Affairs. Cities, towns, villages, summer villages, municipal districts, specialized municipalities and improvement districts are formed under the provincial authority of the MGA. Special areas and Metis settlements are formed under the provincial authority of the Special Areas Act (SAA) and the Metis Settlements Act (MSA) respectively, of which both were enacted in 2000. As provincial law, the MGA, the SAA and the MSA were passed by the Legislative Assembly of Alberta with royal assent granted by the Lieutenant Governor. (Full article...)

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Portrait of Capehart, published in 1923

Harry Jheopart Capehart Sr. (May 2, 1881 – May 15, 1955) was an American lawyer, politician, and businessperson in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Capehart served as a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, representing McDowell County for three consecutive terms, from 1919 to 1925. He also served as an assessor, city councilperson, and city attorney for Keystone, West Virginia.

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... that María Elva Pinckert, motivated by the murder of her brother, started her political career in local politics in 1999?
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... that the Chinese Red Army housed its political directorate in a Catholic church in 1935?
... that the ideas of Albert Schädler became the founding ideas of the Progressive Citizens' Party, though he himself was opposed to the formation of political parties?

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...that the Communist League of America was formed after some members of the Communist Party USA were expelled for Trotskyism?

...that four member states of the European Union have de jure opt-outs and do not participate fully in all common policies?
...that Cornelius, Oregon is named after pioneer Thomas R. Cornelius, who served in both the Territorial and State legislatures?
...that the Society of the Friends of Peasants had significant influence on the Danish Constitution of 1849?

...that the New Zealand McGillicuddy Serious Party wanted to return to a medieval lifestyle and establish a monarchy based on the Scottish Jacobite line?

...that in April 2009, Lim Hwee Hua became the first woman to be appointed a full Minister in Singapore's Cabinet?

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In this month

April 1, 1979 – Iran's government becomes an Islamic Republic by a 98% vote, overthrowing the Shah officially.
April 9, 1948 – the period known as La Violencia begins with the assassination of Colombian Liberal Party leader Jorge Eliécer Gaitán. For the next ten years Liberals, Communists and Conservatives would fight each other in the conflict.
April 9, 2003 – Government of Saddam Hussein overthrown by American forces in Iraq.
April 19, 2006 – Han Myung-sook becomes South Korea's first female Prime Minister.
April 24, 2005 – Presidential elections in Togo return Faure Gnassingbe to power two months after he was installed by the military following the death of his father, Gnassingbé Eyadéma.
April 28, 1937 – Saddam Hussein, the President of Iraq was born.
April 30, 1945 – Adolf Hitler and his wife Eva Braun, commit suicide as the Red Army approached the Führerbunker in Berlin. Karl Dönitz succeeds Hitler as President of Germany; Joseph Goebbels succeeds Hitler as Chancellor of Germany.

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The following are images from various politics-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Division of the world according to Haushofer's pan-regions doctrine (from Geopolitics)
Image 2Montenegro's president Milo Đukanović is often described as having strong links to Montenegrin mafia. (from Political corruption)
Image 3The Flag of the United Nations flying 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)
Image 4Russia handing over the symbolic relay baton for the hosting rights of the 2022 FIFA World Cup to Qatar in June 2018 (from Political corruption)
Image 5A world map distinguishing countries of the world as federations (green) from unitary states (blue), a work of political science (from Political science)
Image 6Ferdinand Marcos (pictured with his daughter Imee) was a Philippine dictator and kleptocrat. His regime was infamous for its corruption. (from Political corruption)
Image 7Sir 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)
Image 8Karl 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)
Image 9American lobbyist and businessman Jack Abramoff was at the center of an extensive corruption investigation. (from Political corruption)
Image 10Savka Dabčević-Kučar, Croatian Spring participant; Europe's first female prime minister (from Civil and political rights)
Image 11Eugène 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)
Image 12Protesters in support of American whistleblower Edward Snowden, Berlin, Germany, 30 August 2014 (from Political corruption)
Image 13World map with the concepts of Heartland and Rimland applied (from Geopolitics)
Image 14The sixth president of the United States, John Quincy Adams' "corrupt bargain" of 1824 is an example of patronage. (from Political corruption)
Image 15Detail from Corrupt Legislation (1896) by Elihu Vedder. Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington, D.C. (from Political corruption)
Image 16This 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)
Image 17The logo and slogan for change.org (from Politics and technology)
Image 18Reformers 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)
Image 19United Nations Convention against Corruption (from Political corruption)
Image 20Countries with politicians, public officials or close associates implicated in the Panama Papers leak on April 15, 2016 (from Political corruption)
Image 21Candlelight protest against South Korean President Park Geun-hye in Seoul, South Korea, 7 January 2017 (from Political corruption)
Image 22Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders campaigning for extended US Medicare coverage in 2017. (from Health politics)
Image 23A memorial to the Great Famine (Ireland), a famine event in Ireland that faced elongated 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)
Image 24US Military Police officer restraining and sedating prisoner while a soldier holds him down (from Political corruption)
Image 25Malaysia'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)