Political parties

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 Political parties

Main articles: Political parties in the United States and List of political parties in the United States

U.S. state governments (governor and legislature) by party control, as of 2024:

  Democratic control

  Republican control

  Split control

The Constitution is silent on political parties. However, they developed independently in the 18th century with the Federalist and Anti-Federalist parties.^[234] Since then, the United States has operated as a de facto two-party system, though the parties in that system have been different at different times.^[235] The two main national parties are presently the Democratic and the Republican. The former is perceived as relatively liberal in its political platform while the latter is perceived as relatively conservative.^[236]

Subdivisions

Main articles: U.S. state, County (United States), and Territories of the United States

In the American federal system, sovereign powers are shared between two levels of elected government: national and state. People in the states are also represented by local elected governments, which are administrative divisions of the states.^[237] States are subdivided into counties or county equivalents, and further divided into municipalities. The District of Columbia is a federal district containing the U.S. capital, Washington, D.C.^[238] The federal district is an administrative division of the federal government.^[239] Federally recognized tribes govern 326 Indian reservations.^[240]

Foreign relations

Main articles: Foreign relations of the United States and Foreign policy of the United States

The United Nations headquarters has been situated along the East River in Midtown Manhattan since 1952; in 1945, the United States was a founding member of the UN.

The United States has an established structure of foreign relations, and it has the world's second-largest diplomatic corps as of 2024. It is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council,^[241] and home to the United Nations headquarters.^[242] The United States is a member of the G7,^[243] G20,^[244] and OECD intergovernmental organizations.^[245] Almost all countries have embassies and many have consulates (official representatives) in the country. Likewise, nearly all countries host formal diplomatic missions with the United States, except Iran,^[246] North Korea,^[247] and Bhutan.^[248] Though Taiwan does not have formal diplomatic relations with the U.S., it maintains close unofficial relations.^[249] The United States regularly supplies Taiwan with military equipment to deter potential Chinese aggression.^[250] Its geopolitical attention also turned to the Indo-Pacific when the United States joined the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue with Australia, India, and Japan.^[251]

The United States has a "Special Relationship" with the United Kingdom^[252] and strong ties with Canada,^[253] Australia,^[254] New Zealand,^[255] the Philippines,^[256] Japan,^[257] South Korea,^[258] Israel,^[259] and several European Union countries (France, Italy, Germany, Spain, and Poland).^[260] The U.S. works closely with its NATO allies on military and national security issues, and with countries in the Americas through the Organization of American States and the United States–Mexico–Canada Free Trade Agreement. In South America, Colombia is traditionally considered to be the closest ally of the United States.^[261] The U.S. exercises full international defense authority and responsibility for Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Palau through the Compact of Free Association.^[231] It has increasingly conducted strategic cooperation with India,^[262] while its ties with China have steadily deteriorated.^[263][264] Since 2014, the U.S. has become a key ally of Ukraine;^[265] it has also provided the country with significant military equipment and other support in response to Russia's 2022 invasion.^[266]