The nations of Arda can vary from Constitutional democracies where all inhabitants are free and equal to totalitarian dictatorships where the people are crushed under the yoke of a authoritarian government. Humans are by far the largest establishers of nations, dividing the land amongst themselves. The elves also claim large territories where they can. Dwarves tend to establish city states that claim little land on the surface but can extend for miles beneath the earth. Other races are less likely to establish nations but have been known to do so on occasion.