The atlas / Countries
Politics, put into practice.
From ancient empires to modern republics. Explore how states and regimes organize power, shape society, and engage with the world.
204 profiles
Twelve dimensions in every profile- Middle Ages
Abbasid Caliphate
A Sunni caliphate with its capital in Baghdad, the Abbasids ruled from the Maghreb to Central Asia under a caliph with religious and political authority, with a Persian-style bureaucracy, long-distance trade, and the House of Wisdom in the Islamic Golden Age.
- Current states & regions
Afghanistan
An Islamic emirate ruled by the Taliban since 2021, Afghanistan is governed by a clerical supreme leader who imposes a strict interpretation of sharia, bars women from education and work, and faces economic crisis and isolation.
- Current states & regions
Alaska (United States)
The largest US state and one of the least densely populated, Alaska lives off oil, pays every resident an annual dividend from its Permanent Fund, levies no state income tax, and has a strong gun culture, Native corporations and distrust of the federal government.
- Current states & regions
Albania
A Muslim-majority parliamentary republic in the Balkans, Albania is a secular state with strong interfaith coexistence, a market economy after the end of Enver Hoxha's communist regime, NATO membership, and candidacy for the European Union.
- Current states & regions
Algeria
Born from the war of independence against France, Algeria is an army-dominated republic with Islam as the state religion, a state-run economy dependent on oil and gas, a non-aligned foreign policy and repression of the Hirak movement.
- 20th & 21st centuries
Allende's Chile
Under Allende's Popular Unity, Chile attempted democratic socialism through copper and bank nationalization, agrarian reform, and economic planning until the 1973 military coup.
- 20th & 21st centuries
Anarchist Aragon and Catalonia
During the Spanish Revolution, regions of Aragon and Catalonia lived an anarchist experiment of collectivizing land and factories, with workers' self-management and social organization without a central state.
- Antiquity
Ancient Egypt
A Nile Valley civilization ruled by pharaonic dynasties through periods of unity and fragmentation. Sacred kingship, temples, and agricultural administration structured society; practices and institutions varied over three millennia.
- 20th & 21st centuries
Apartheid South Africa
A regime of institutional racial segregation, apartheid South Africa denied rights to the Black majority and concentrated power in the white minority, with separation laws that provoked strong internal resistance and sanctions.
- Current states & regions
Argentina
A presidential federal republic, Argentina under Javier Milei since 2023 pursues fiscal restraint, deregulation and privatization while retaining public services and aligning with the United States and Israel, breaking with Peronism.
- Current states & regions
Armenia
A semi-presidential republic in the Caucasus, Armenia combines Christian national identity and historical rivalry with Azerbaijan and Turkey, seeking balance between Russia, the West, and Iran.
- 20th & 21st centuries
Assad's Syria
Under Bashar al-Assad (2000–2024), Syria was a centralized Ba'athist regime sustained by security forces, a clientelist state economy, and alliances with Russia and Iran during the civil war.
- 20th & 21st centuries
Atatürk's Turkey
A republic founded by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk on the ruins of the Ottoman Empire, Kemalist Turkey abolished the caliphate and imposed laicism, the Latin alphabet, women's rights, and economic statism under the single-party CHP.
- Current states & regions
Australia
A federal parliamentary monarchy, Australia unites stable democracy, multiculturalism, and a market economy rich in natural resources, with strong alignment with the West and rigorous, selective migration policies.
- Current states & regions
Austria
A parliamentary federal republic in Central Europe, Austria combines military neutrality, a robust welfare state, a social market economy, a moderate Catholic-secular culture, and deep integration into the European Union.
- 19th century
Austrian Empire (Habsburgs)
Founded by the Habsburgs in 1804, the Austrian Empire was a multinational Central European monarchy until the Compromise of 1867. Under Francis I and Metternich, it combined centralized administration, Catholic primacy, and liberal repression.
- 19th century
Austro-Hungarian Empire
A dual monarchy in Central Europe, the Austro-Hungarian Empire gathered multiple nationalities under the Habsburg dynasty, combining aristocracy, imperial bureaucracy, political Catholicism, and growing nationalist tensions.
- 20th & 21st centuries
Ba'athist Iraq
Ruled by the Ba'ath Party from 1968 to 2003, Iraq combined Arab nationalism, state oil and one-party rule. Under Saddam Hussein, the regime intensified repression, fought wars against Iran and Kuwait, and faced international sanctions.
- Current states & regions
Bahrain
A Persian Gulf monarchy ruled by the Sunni Al Khalifa dynasty over a Shia majority, Bahrain combines a liberalized financial hub, a parliament with limited powers, repression of the opposition since 2011, and alignment with Saudi Arabia and the US.
- Current states & regions
Bavaria (Germany)
Germany's largest federal state, Bavaria combines strong regional identity and Catholicism, historic dominance by the CSU, cutting-edge industry (BMW, Siemens), and active defense of its fiscal and cultural autonomy from Berlin.
- Current states & regions
Belarus
A post-Soviet presidential republic, Belarus is ruled by an authoritarian, personalist regime, with strong state control of the economy, repression of the opposition, and a close political alliance with Russia.
- Current states & regions
Belgium
Federal parliamentary monarchy made up of three regions and three linguistic communities, with competitive elections, broad social protection, and an open economy integrated into the European Union. National politics combines multiparty coalitions, regional autonomy, and guarantees of religious freedom.
- Current states & regions
Bhutan
A small Himalayan kingdom, Bhutan combines a Buddhist constitutional monarchy, strong protection of traditional culture and nature, and Gross National Happiness as its compass of government, with cautious openness to the outside world.
- Current states & regions
Bolivia
An Andean presidential republic, Bolivia is marked by indigenous leadership, the defense of natural resources, and a plurinational state project that unites economic nationalism and broad popular participation.
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