In any given show where there is some sort of global conflict, or speculative fiction of any kind, there will most often be only 2-4 countries involved, and each will be described as a superpower. Obviously, this isn't historically accurate; the Cold War, for example, was primarily between the US and the Soviet Union, but many other countries had a stake in the outcome (e.g. nations along the Iron Curtain, and places like Latin America and Southeast Asia where communism was making headway). If there are two factions they will fairly often be The Empire and The Federation or The Alliance or The Republic, though usually neither is portrayed as "good" in this setup (ala Legend of the Galactic Heroes, or even Gundam), at its most extreme even factions that aren't sovereign nations may be treat