The gist of the world's politics is, at the moment, that there are two parallel societies. The first is the typical adventuring society with the conventional humanoids, half-orcs, and the like. The aesthetics and government vary from place to place, but so far what I've got are a cosmopolitan Rome analogue near the dungeon the PC's call home, a Japan analogue run by hobgoblins, aztec lizardmen/reptile kobolds/muckdwellers, and what I can best describe as "Egypt, but more deserty." These empires require lots of money to function, which they can't bring in consistently due to economic fluctuations. However, if empires collapse, it weakens the forces of Law in the universe.

Then you have the society of Dungeon Dwellers. This society resides in the tombs, catacombs, caves, and carcasses that honeycomb the world, stretching down to the Underdark. These are your atypical races- goblins, kobolds, savage lizardmen, gnolls, orcs, drow, undead, muckdwellers, gremlins, imps, etc. This society is fairly profitable, having access to powerful enchanters, skilled craftsmen, and cheap labor. Further income and minions are provided by the forces of Law (who like the ready source of income that loot provides to the empires), Evil (who like to have places for minions to rest, propagate, and train), Chaos (who like the freedom that a dungeon presents for adventures), Good (who just seem to fund everything), and Neutrality (who give funds to balance out their contributions to holy orders). In order to keep all their Law/Evil funding, however, the rulers of the dungeons- the Dungeon Lords- must meet certain quotas in terms of loot production, racial composition, and Evil Acts. The Dungeon Lord is the most powerful denizen of any dungeon, with a support staff meant to keep the wheels running.

The setting hasn't been fleshed out that much, so feel free to contribute stuff. I'll look over that article later.