Randy Ellefson's Blog, page 29

Choose Your Power’s World View

There is considerable overlap between a sovereign power’s world view and government, but some ideas are bigger than the resulting government, which they can sometimes outlast. An idea can guide the formation of laws and the separation of power (or lack thereof).

We should decide what ideas drive our sovereign power. We can do this by deciding who the ruling class was/is at the time the current government formed. The group will promote its own self interests. This is true even in a democracy, where ideals of freedom for all are still seen as being in the best interests of not only all people, but those putting forth the idea.

If businesses are in power, they might craft laws that only they can own business, expand, or do advertising. Wizards in power might believe in the rule of might by magic and create laws and government supporting this. Those who fear wizards could undermine their power and might ban magic. This can be true of technological advances as well. Some people are selfish and want all the power and riches for themselves, being willing to force millions into poverty to gain it. A dynastic ruling class will try to preserve its way of life. Generally, any oppressive regime will undercut the people while also trying to prevent an uprising. By contrast, a more democratic one will empower the people.

The world view of those in charge can diverge from those they rule, regardless of the population’s freedom. Those in a dictatorship might despise their government (quietly, to avoid being murdered by it) while democracies can have opposing parties that are starkly at odds with each other, despite sharing broader views that unite them. Inventing more than one political party can make our invented sovereign power more believable but isn’t necessary unless we intend to write stories using them.

What we’re looking for are a few broad ideas to characterize this place. They will be generalizations, as not everyone will hold the viewpoint. Take some ideas from here as a starting point:

Wizards are evil and therefore magic is banned
Aliens will only destroy us and therefore we must be prepared
The ocean offers a chance to visit and conquer or explore other lands
The world/cosmos is wonderful and must be explored for continued advancement
Space must be explored because the planet is in jeopardy and another one is needed
Territory or natural resources must be protected from aliens, immigrants, or barbarian hordes and therefore military might is cherished
Freedom is a central right of all people and therefore democracy must be spread, prompting support of other countries and being “world police”
The race/species in power is superior and deserves to rule the world
Other races/species are inferior and deserve extermination or exclusion/expulsion from lands

Gods have given a divine right to dominance that must be pursued

Population Count and Type

When considering population, we should include land features in our thoughts. Dwarves are unlikely to be present in high numbers when there are no hills or mountains. The same is true of elves and forests. The form of government can also inhibit an entire species (or cultures within the species) from living somewhere if too much ideological separation exists between species and government. A territory may include land features that house undesirable species (and monsters), which in turn might cause repeated efforts to keep them at bay. The result will be armed forces who specialize in dealing with them, and possibly a famous hero for our world.

Inclusion

Our sovereign power’s population determines much of what life is like, partly because they’ll decide the form of government. Or at least, the population around at the time will. We can look to the United States as an example, for with white men in power at the time of the country’s creation, life has favored them ever since. The increasing introduction of other races has led to racial tension. While many believe other residents should be afforded the same rights, and these were intended by the founding fathers, this wasn’t the case. New laws had to be enacted and other races and women are still trying to catch up hundreds of years later.

We can leverage such a situation. Decide who founded our invented power. This will be whoever we want to dominate it. Keep in mind that a power has a capital somewhere, and within the power’s territory will be other settlements. As discussed in “Creating a Species: Habitat” from Creating Life (The Art of World Building, #1) (italics), more than one species likely created our places. There’s a tendency to decide humans built everything and all other species are bit players on that human stage. These locations can be dominated by another species instead.

We should decide what percentage of each species filled our sovereign power when it was formed, and what that proportion is today. And we should consider whether the percentage of any species rivaled or surpassed that of humanity. If the territory is half elven, that suggests they are present in many settlements (as at least a strong minority). In turn, they are prominent enough to insist on a form of government that takes into account their world view. By contrast, if they are only rarely seen outside their forests, they won’t have a voice. Minorities are always excluded in some way, even in the most benevolent society.

Since government forms change in time, this means that a power could collapse and rebuild more than once. Earliest forms of government might not have considered the elves, for example, but a thousand years and several government types later, maybe now the elves are so numerous that they impact the current government type. There could be prejudice against this or not, but it gives us a realistic viewpoint into how a sovereign power can be more equal about who’s in power.

Exclusion

Are there species that aren’t allowed in our sovereign power or are suppressed, openly or not? We’ll need a good reason, such as hostility, distrust, or other problems they might cause, like spreading disease. If a nefarious species is frowned upon, they might still be present. Sovereign powers cover much territory that cannot be completely policed, even with technology or magic designed to do so (nothing is perfect). Decide where in our land this unwelcome species tends to be, and how they reach that point. Do they land there (whether via ships or wings)?  Maybe they can burrow to reach it. A spell or portal can put them there.

Why does an excluded species want to be here? They might be hunting animals or species for sport or food, whether there’s a famine where they live or not. They may covet a resource. They could be spying for later conquest. A benevolent species might come to spread its ideology or help people.

We might have sympathizers to the excluded species in our sovereign power. These can be people who want to overthrow the government. Perhaps they want to use these excluded species to help despite the risk. This might’ve happened in the past, too, and can be one way to create history and a fallen government long gone. The result of this can be an influx of the species and whatever good or ill they bring with them. It isn’t just evil species that might be excluded, but the good ones during a benevolent power.

We might consider the price these species pay for being caught. Imprisonment, torture, forced servitude, and death are the more extreme options.

Numbers

Most of us have little idea how many people are within a geographic area. Rather than citing hard numbers, percentages can be more useful while also freeing us from unrealistic statements. Numbers might be needed when stating how large an army is, for example, but this can be easily bypassed with descriptions of how a sea of troops spread farther into the horizon than could be seen. This is more useful than a number, for it describes the impact or impression a force creates; a number tells the audience little.

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How Many Kingdoms to Create?

How Many Sovereign Powers to Invent

Now that we have a high-level understanding of different sovereign power types, we can create one with better clarity. The process of inventing each is similar unless we go into details on roles and responsibility of individual government officials, which is not the focus here. We’re taking a higher aim at overall subjects because those apply to the broadest issues in decision making and affect the most number of world builders. If you want the nitty gritty on any government type and its operations, numerous books by experts can provide the insight you need. I’ve created scores of sovereign powers over the years and have seldom needed more than what’s discussed herein.

While this chapter focuses on inventing one sovereign power, we likely need more, particularly if we’re going to reuse the world. The variety of government types outlined in a previous section should provide ideas for options. Strive to have differing governments.

Authoritative states and oligarchies will have abusive leaders and a suffering public. They are great for being overthrown by our hero, as the source of some evil that is threatening the world, or as a dangerous place that has valuable things our characters want to plunder at their peril. Monarchies can differ in severity. They can be benevolent but with few options for lowborn people to advance. Federations and democracies are more likely to be decent places to live, minimizing abuse from the state itself, but evil can lurk anywhere. Our characters from such a place might be better informed about the world and have far more opportunities to make their own way.

Invent for Today

The invention of time and history is covered in more detail in Chapter 10, “Creating Time and History,” but when creating a sovereign power (or settlement), we’re usually deciding what it is like right now. “Now” is when we’re planning to use it. We can just write in our files, “present day Nivera Kingdom is…” without deciding what year that is. Or we can omit the “present day” comment and assume that, unless we say otherwise in our files, we’re always describing present day conditions. Eventually, we might decide present day means 5403 AE, but it isn’t necessary now. Just make a note in your files or in your head about what you’re doing.

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How to Choose a Government

The type of government is the first choice we should make because it affects so much of life in a sovereign power. A dictatorship, constitutional monarchy, and federal republic offer wildly different experiences for everything from personal freedom to opportunities for employment. Most of us take for granted the form of government in our own land because it likely hasn’t changed in our lifetime unless we’re in a war-torn country. But those who are suffering due to government failures for infrastructure, human rights, and other issues are keenly aware of their government and foster a desire for change or escape.

With the government type decided, we should decide who the head of state and head of government are; these may be the same person. Names are not important, just the roles. In a constitutional monarchy, just state the monarch is head of state and the prime minister is head of government. See the previous section for roles.

Decide the head of state’s role. Does he have actual power, and how much? What can he make happen? If his role is ceremonial, what does he do, bestow knighthood and appear at big sporting events, like a joust? Does he bless new ships, space stations, or weapons?

No ruler rules alone. Decide who else has power (it may be a group) and whether they’re helping or thwarting him. Is it the legislature in a constitutional monarchy? Is it an inner circle of trusted sycophants in a dictatorship? It might be the people in a federal republic, voting legislators out of office. Special interest groups can lobby for power and control events.

When deciding to use a parliamentary system, for example, we can write in our files something like this: “This sovereign power is a parliamentary system with a prime minister (head of government) chosen by the head of state (king) but who can be removed (by the legislative branch) with a vote of no confidence. The king’s role as head of state is largely ceremonial.”

To recap, follow these steps to get started:

Decide on government type
Decide on head of state and head of government
Decide head of state’s role
Decide who else has power

History

The history of our sovereign power doesn’t need to be created, but doing so often enriches our writing. A previous section provides ideas on how each type of power rises and falls, lending ideas for a changing political landscape and fortunes for our inhabitants. It’s unlikely that our sovereign power has had the same government type through history. Changing it can provide opportunities for stories, such as abandoned places that might now be harboring something deadly.

In all likelihood, our characters won’t know that a current aspect of their life originated in a previous form of government. But in certain cases they will. This includes shared coinage that a long-gone empire might’ve caused to spread. Grand buildings could be ancient and in disrepair like those of Egypt, the government that created them long gone. Common languages and customs arise from such things, too.

We don’t need a complete history or many details. Just decide that some previous versions existed, choose a point in the past and work your way forward (dates can be added or altered later). For example, an absolute monarchy can give way to a constitutional one, which then collapsed during a war that left a power vacuum that a dictator filled. Maybe that guy was destroyed by a hero, who became an absolute monarch, then conquered other nations, becoming emperor.

States sometimes fail because they no longer provide something a state must provide. This could be economic stability, enough military might to control its territory, or basic services to the people.

Try to think of a legacy that each government left in its wake. Maybe it increased learning, language, and literacy (more likely in a democracy), voting rights, laws (which may not be honored later or can be), coinage, slogans, and improved the general disposition of a population. Maybe knights are far more widespread now, or plants and animals were imported from other regions. Perhaps a species was banned or allowed in after a ban and introduced cultural ideas. Maybe ships of a particular type weren’t allowed but are now, or vice versa.

When creating history we can write something like this in our files: “Up until a hundred years ago, this was an absolute monarchy. This changed as a result of the king burning heretics, a rebellion, war, or some other events. This led to the current system of government and a curtailing of the king’s powers” (i.e., removal as head of government while keeping the role of head of state).

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Nations and Countries

In this section, we discuss the difference between a nation and country so world builders realize these aren’t government types at all, but something else.

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Understanding Oligarchies

An oligarchy is any form of government where power is controlled by a small group of people. This can be beneficial in smaller populations, particularly if a group like village elders is in power, because wiser people tend to be less selfish. But in larger populations, oligarchies tend toward being tyrannical and make a good idea for evil sovereign powers on our world. Anything can be the basis for an oligarchy but is usually something like wealth, military power, status, family, higher education, or ability (like wizards). Owners of large corporations could qualify, especially in SF. There is sometimes a figurehead who appears to be the leader while the real power structure is unknown to the public. The military is used to maintain control and order.

Several types of oligarchies are discussed below.

Aristocracies

An aristocracy is a form of government where a privileged class of people, supposedly the most qualified, rule. They might be the most famous and will usually be wealthy or otherwise influential. Belonging to the aristocracy requires inheriting the right or having it conferred upon one by the monarch. The people have few if any rights while the aristocrats have many and might even be above the law.

Historical examples include medieval nobility in Europe and ruling classes in India, Athens Greece, and Rome.

Plutocracies

In a plutocracy, a small group of rich people are in control. The leaders may enrich themselves at the expense of the poor. And they do not make life better for everyone, just themselves, so we typically won’t see them creating social programs to aid the general population. In such a sovereign power, opulence will dominate areas where the rulers dwell while poverty might spread everywhere else.

Historical examples include merchant republics in Venice, Florence, and Genoa, and the Holy Roman Empire.

Military Juntas

A military junta results from a military conquest of a country, the power now being held by multiple military leaders as a political group. The state is fundamentally authoritative, as you’d guess, and there are no elections. There’s also no constitution or laws adding legitimacy. Those in power typically emerge as leaders after combat, whether personal or military.

Past examples include Thailand, Burma/Myanmar, and Argentina.

Stratocracies

Like a junta, a stratocracy is a military government, but this one has a constitution, laws and formal government, where every position is held by officers. If people can join the military, voluntarily or not, they become eligible to be part of this government. They therefore acquire the right to vote, for example, provided they are in good standing, such as having been honorably discharged. The rights of people are often limited, much the same way any military places limits on the conduct of its population. Since officers can be promoted on merit, this can be a meritocracy where only the most worthy advance.

Examples include Burma/Myanmar and the fictional Cardassian Union of Star Trek.

Timocracies

In a timocracy, only property owners can participate in government. No one else can hold office or vote, for example, and their rights are limited. Acquiring property might be difficult. It’s easy to imagine red tape and other barriers, or plots to rob an heir of property that would be inherited. Perhaps the government has recently eliminated the inheritance of property by individuals, which goes to itself instead of the heir.

Magocracies

We could also have a magocracy, where only people who have magical power can be members of government, hold office, or vote, and no one else has much in the way of rights. There could other versions of this, replacing wizards with one thing or another—vampireocracy, undeadocracy, or elfinocracy. The latter could be more simply a “raceocracy,” a term used regardless of the race in power, although it doesn’t sound as good, but you get the idea.

Other Ideas

Other ideas, which are sometimes theoretical or just rarely seen, have been suggested, going all the way back to Plato. Each of them amounts to rule by a select group, whether it’s the strong, wise, technologically advanced, or whatever other criteria we invent. This is an opportunity to make things up. Another variant is rule by thieves, such as might be found in a corrupt city or pirate den. Rule by corporations or banks might be useful in futuristic SF. For more ideas, visit http://www.artofworldbuilding.com/government.

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Understanding Monarchies

A kingdom is technically a monarchy, which was the most common form of government on Earth until the republic took that honor. In fantasy worlds, it’s probably the most common, whereas federations seem dominant in SF. In a monarchy, one person (the monarch) is the sovereign until death or abdication, though there have been cases of a monarch serving for only a few years, with this planned in advance. This is done to achieve a goal, like quelling an insurrection. When the crisis is over, the monarch steps down.

Someone can simply announce they are a monarch after seizing power, as Napoleon did in France to create the First French Empire. Doing so resulted in other European countries repeatedly attacking France as a unified coalition because none of them wanted a French Empire. He rebuffed them but eventually succumbed.

Monarch titles are familiar: emperor, king, duke, prince, and so on.

Succession

Monarchies are typically hereditary, where only members of the family (usually male) can become monarch. Heirs are raised in a royal family and taught what is expected of them, and if the same family rules for generations, it’s called a dynasty. The heir is most often known in advance to ensure smooth, uncontested transition. George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Fire and Ice (aka Game of Thrones) is largely based on the failure of smooth succession. Competing ideas on who is the rightful heir can cause strain and outright war.

An heir can be chosen according to the proximity of their bloodline to the king. A son is in close proximity while a cousin is farther removed. Primogeniture is different and stipulates that the first born male is to inherit everything, followed by younger sons, then daughters, and finally siblings. We don’t need to know too much about this for world building unless getting further into the details of a kingdom to tell a story there.

The rules for succession vary so that we can invent our own if desired. We could decide that the king’s eldest son is next in line but only if he’s been a knight or star fighter in the past. This becomes justification for forcing military service on a prince, but maybe such a prince fails and the next oldest male heir is now first in line to the throne. The quality of one’s bloodline can be a determining factor, as can religion, age, and even mental capacity. The most famous disqualification is gender; our modern audiences might prefer the abolition of that one. Sexual orientation could also be used, one justification being that a homosexual is less likely to produce an heir.

Another option is for those within a group to elect the next monarch from those who are eligible. Maybe the next king must be a wizard, and this requirement trumps everything else so that even someone who is otherwise unqualified to rule becomes king. In SF, it could be a scientist chosen by other scientists. We can decide there’s a reason for this, such as this specialized skill set enables the fulfillment of the king’s duties. Or we can just decide it is part of the kingdom’s constitution and never remark on why that is until we think of a rationale.

Absolute Monarchy vs. Constitutional Monarchy

In an absolute monarchy, the monarch has unrestricted power over the people, who have little or no say in government. He can enact laws by decree and impose punishments. He has full control over the military. In practice, he may be limited by a priesthood, the aristocracy, or middle and lower classes. The monarch also needs help from an inner circle that often acts like an oligarchy, since many are relatives. An absolute monarchy often gives way to a constitutional one.

If a constitution exists to place limits on the monarch, that’s called a constitutional monarchy. The monarch is often the head of state but not head of government, making him largely ceremonial. Some constitutional monarchs are also head of government and have considerable power. Otherwise, power lies with the legislature and a prime minister who is head of government. Other powers can exist due to laws, precedent, or tradition. The monarch has an official residence and sovereign immunity (he cannot be sued and technically can do no wrong because the government is considered responsible). Succession is usually determined by law of the constitution.

Other Limits

A monarchy might not be absolute due to other limitations, such as military groups who retain authority over themselves and dominate the monarchy. In ancient times, there were several instances of the military electing a monarch or even killing one before replacing him; the Praetorian Guard of Rome exemplified this.

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Understanding Federations

Federations are some of the most popular government types in fiction.

Federation

A federation is a union of self-governing states or regions that give up some of their freedom for a national government and the advantages it offers. A constitution outlines the status and division of power and cannot be altered by political powers, the federal government, or the regions in the union. One goal is greater stability, especially economic, but if the economy of one state experiences severe troubles, it can threaten the stability of them all. Territorial disputes are also resolved with the agreement, which also creates greater uniformity between disparate states.

The states have some sovereignty over themselves but nothing at the federal level or with other foreign powers. They have some rights to control local laws and administer their own affairs. Some states may have more autonomy than others, possibly because they joined a federation sooner, before the constitution changed. Federations can also provide a common military front to shared enemies. A federation is helpful in managing a very large area due to the ability of the small states (sometimes called provinces) to manage their more local affairs. Membership in the federation is not voluntary.

A challenge for all federations is that individual states sometimes have opposing ideas about what they can do and the central government must find a way to resolve this. Failure to do so can lead to civil war, states seceding, or even states being expelled. In extreme cases, the federation can collapse. One example is the United States Civil War, where southern states believed the constitution provided the right for slavery. Other states and the federal government disagreed. This caused the southern states to attempt seceding (to create a confederation, explained below). Seceding is not allowed in a federation and led to civil war as the federal government attempted to bring the southern states back in line. No foreign country recognized the south’s Confederation of the United States as being sovereign.

Federations, like Canada, sometimes do not include “federation” in their name, but others will. Titles include federation, federal republic, confederation, dominion, kingdom, and union. In other words, we can’t always tell what form of government a sovereign power has by its title.

Unitary State

A unitary state is similar to a federation except that the federal government can eliminate the autonomy of the states. Their formation is also different, as a federation comes together from independent states joining forces. A unitary state originates from a pre-existing central government granting more autonomy to previously dependent states. What the government giveth, it can taketh away. These subdivisions can be created and abolished by the central government at will. Laws can also be forced on the states or taken away. Sometimes the states cannot create any of their own laws.

These details may be the sort of thing we and our audience don’t care about, so we could ignore unitary states as an option for our sovereign powers and just have them be a federation instead, partly because we’ve all heard “federation.” Fewer have heard of “unitary state,” requiring explanation that is likely dry. If we use a unitary state, we may not want to call it one to avoid that reaction. This gives us the best of both worlds: a unitary state without reader confusion. If our story ever involves the government giving or removing rights to a state, then we can admit its form of government.

The United Kingdom is a unitary state.

1.1.1.3       Confederation

A confederation is a group of sovereign powers who form a permanent union so as to act together against other states. Membership is voluntary, unlike a federation. Any agreements made by the confederation are not binding until the member states enact laws in accordance with those agreements. The actual confederation has no real power and any changes to its constitution require a unanimous vote. The formation is usually by treaty, but a constitution will be created shortly thereafter. One confederation might be quite different from another, meaning we have some freedom to create the rules of one; some will be stricter, like a federation.

Switzerland, Canada, Belgium, and the European Union are confederations.

Empire

In an empire, multiple sovereign powers are ruled by a single power via coercion. The individual powers are still self-governing because the central government allows it, similar to a federation. An empire can include territories across the sea and other territories not adjacent to it, like the British Empire. Sometimes a ruler, such as a king, names himself emperor, making his territory automatically an empire, even when it doesn’t fit the details outlined here (it’s still a single sovereign power).

In addition to controlling by conquest, an empire can gain control by exerting pressure due to having an advantage of some kind. This can include superior economics that make another sovereign power subservient to it. Using force requires keeping soldiers in each country. This limits options for further conquest, so other forms of coercion are attractive.

A weak state may also seek to be annexed by an empire for protection and other advantages such as trade. Imagine being the ruler of a kingdom sandwiched between an empire and a wasteland of nomads known for violent conquest; we might want the empire’s protection from the barbarian horde. This protection comes at the expense of current autonomy but is better than the alternative of being destroyed. In SF, a planet could be blockaded by space ships and prevented from interplanetary trade unless it joins the empire blockading it.

Due to this absorption of other countries, an empire includes multi-ethnic peoples and will typically force its culture on all its territories to consolidate its hold. When an empire fails, it often breaks into pieces based on these cultural and ethnic divisions, and the previously independent states (prior to the empire) don’t necessarily return to what government they were before the empire. An empire’s collapse is often catastrophic for its former territories, leading to enormous upheaval and uncertainty. If we want traveling characters to experience unexpected challenges wherever they go, an empire’s recent collapse provides believable chaos across many areas.

An empire can become a federal republic or a more loosely bound commonwealth of nations all governed by the previously dominant nation. For example, Britain still governs states that were part of its empire. The impact of having been part of an empire is long lasting even when full independence is achieved. Economic and cultural changes take root more deeply the longer a state was part of an empire.

Examples include the Roman Empire and British Empire.

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Understanding Democracies

A democracy allows people to participate in government by having influence over what policies are made into laws. Direct democracy means that the public votes directly on initiatives that can become law as a result of that vote, but this becomes unwieldy as the population increases. In an indirect democracy, people use free elections to elect officials who vote on those initiatives on their behalf; the indirect approach is far more common on Earth, one example being the United States. Indirect is the one we’ll typically want to use. Having representatives running government frees the rest of the population for other things. The ability to elect and remove government officials also eliminates the need for revolution to cause change.

While democracies have existed in some form for thousands of years, it wasn’t until the last two hundred years that greater equality for citizens became the norm. Before that, there was often an elite class in control. Even in modern democracies, there are sometimes oligarchies or monarchs affecting affairs. This causes some ambiguity about the power structure, which is one reason world builders might want to avoid that.

Examples include the United States.

Rights

In a democracy, laws are supposed to apply to all people, but this isn’t always true. A democracy is a rule by the majority, which means minorities are sometimes overlooked, abused, and not offered equal protection. This is arguably truer in a newer democracy. In time, progress is typically made amid occasional setbacks so that an older democracy might offer more equal rights. Generally, greater freedom allows people to travel, learn skills and information, and have opportunities not available in something like a totalitarian regime.

Our characters can run into problems anyway. Someone with talent for magic might be prevented from training due to race, gender, or another issue. One character can be forbidden to carry a weapon while others can. If we don’t want to focus on such things in a story, it’s still a good way to give characters a sense of entitlement or bitterness about their life and opportunities. This can be the reason they’ve left home, to escape a lack of freedom. It can work in reverse, such as a female wizard allowed to be one in her home country only to arrive in another where it’s not allowed and she is jailed.

Human rights abuses tend to be smaller or almost non-existent, compared with authoritarian powers. Citizens have many laws on their side and courts through which to seek resolution of disputes. Freedom is central, including freedom of speech, political and religious views, and the press.

In theory, anyone can become a representative in congress, though money and influence often restrict this. In this way, a democracy can resemble an oligarchy, where a small group (the wealthy) are running government.

The Rise and Fall of Democracy

A democracy can arise from revolution and wars that overthrow or otherwise destroy previous governments. Religion and economics can also cause a sudden change. The Great Depression in the United States caused hardship around the globe. It also sullied the idea of democracy, leading many to believe it was a failure. The result was a rise, in other countries, of dictatorships. A decade later, when those countries lost World War II, another swing back toward democracy took place; this was partly a rejection of such regimes.

Epic fantasy fiction often includes stories where someone must save the world, usually from an evil dictator or kingdom. Should our heroes be victorious, we can choose to have a similar rise in democracy in the aftermath, if we continue using the world.

A democracy can fail when it’s not structured to prevent the balance of power from tipping too heavily. When a branch of government gains too much strength, it effectively stops being a democracy even if it doesn’t rebrand itself. Some groups may be prevented from having power, which can also lead to trouble and an overthrow.

There’s a tendency to take our current government for granted. In the United States, this complacency reveals itself in low voter turnout that sometimes surprises those in foreign countries who wish they had that right to vote. In countries with less stable government and fewer rights, the average person is more likely to care quite a bit about the current government because life under it isn’t fair, kind, or likely to change. They may dream of escape. Give them somewhere to dream of.

Types

There are many different types of democracy, but we’ll only cover a few basics.

Direct democracy was discussed previously. So was indirect, which is commonly called “representative democracy,” and when the head of state is also elected, indirect is called a democratic republic. A republic may or may not have the word itself in its name, like “Republic of Nivera.” As with other government forms, the idea of a republic has changed over time, giving us some leeway to tweak details for our purposes. Republics eventually replaced absolute monarchies as the most common form of government on Earth.

Since a government representative is free to exercise his own judgment on how to “represent” the constituents who elected him, there’s room for abuse and resulting dissatisfaction that may lead to being ousted from office in favor of a new representative.

In parliamentary democracy, the people elect members to parliament (the legislature), who in turn elect a prime minister as head of government from among their ranks. This prime minister is chosen from the majority ruling party. The people cannot remove a prime minister, but parliament can remove him via a vote of no confidence. The people can vote members of parliament out of office at the next election.

By contrast, in a presidential democracy, people elect the president, who is head of state and (italics) government and appoints his own cabinet. The election date is set, but the term of office (how many years they can be president) may or may not be. The president cannot be easily removed, nor can he easily remove legislative members. If the president is in a different party than the legislature, they can block each other, causing stagnation.

Even in a representative democracy, there can be aspects of direct democracy when the public votes directly on referendums or initiatives. This is how individual measures are voted on by the public, causing a kind of hybrid democracy. The United States allows this, particularly at the state and local level, as each has some sovereignty over its own affairs.

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Authoritarian State

This section covers authoritarian states.

Autocracy

A government where one person can do what they please without any inhibition, or fear of consequences from government or society, is an autocracy. These are great for fantasy and SF villains running a country. These are the sort of people our hero can destroy. However, when this individual is destroyed, the power vacuum can be devastating and lead to even worse. Absolute monarchies, like Brunei and Saudi Arabia, and dictatorships are the main forms of autocracy and will be discussed below.

Totalitarian

In a totalitarian government, the state has total control of everything, including military, communications, and infrastructure. There’s only one political party, which uses propaganda to remain in power and control minds. Citizens have no power at all and no laws to protect them or advance their wishes. Dissent can bring brutally harsh punishment, including death (and mass killings), long prison sentences, or hard labor. The military is used to enforce the will of a leader, who can often be part of a cult of personality designed to worship him. Many of Earth’s most evil figures were leaders (usually dictators) of such regimes. They are typically very charismatic.

The ownership of weapons is highly restricted, as is free speech, assembly, art, science (magic?), morality, even thoughts. Even architecture symbolizes the hulking, brutish dominance. The state terrorizes its subjects into submission and has secret police.

This sort of state will have an all-encompassing effect on any story we’d like to set there, as there’s no such thing as living in this regime and not having it impact you deeply. Such states make for excellent enemies of our characters or threats to their way of life, particularly when the regime seeks to expand and conquer the place where our hero lives. Think Nazi Germany and the resulting world war.

This form of government can arise from the destruction of war, when a power vacuum is created and a political party seizes control, particularly when it controls mass weapons and then communications. Imagine a Kingdom of Illiandor defeating the Republic of Kysh, but Illiandor leaves because it lacks the resources to control Kysh, or its army is needed on another front, or some other reason. Now Kysh is on its own again but its government is destroyed. A military leader in Kysh takes power and it becomes a totalitarian government.

This government also forms after anarchy—a lack of government.

Authoritarian

An authoritarian government is a less extreme version of totalitarian ones. It has a single political power, whether an individual or group, and the leader is not particularly charismatic and may even be disliked. Separation between society and the state still exists, but the state constrains political and other groups, and the legislature, while also having so much red tape to regulate everything that it can stall out progress it disagrees with. Corruption is high and personal connections and favors are important to maintaining power. Elections, if held, are rigged. Unlike a totalitarian government, the state is only concerned with aspects of political life, not everything else. This allows the people to have at least some illusion of control. As long as society is not challenging it, the regime allows some liberty, such as a private business.

Examples include the United Arab Emirates, Laos, Egypt, and China, Sudan, Vietnam, and North Korea.

Dictatorship

When one person or party rules a country, it’s a dictatorship. It can also be seen more as a role in government than a type of one. This is partly because it’s not possible for one person to truly do it alone; he must have others supporting him, such as with an oligarchy. Sometimes the apparent dictator is a figurehead, chosen by an inner circle that holds the power. The government is typically authoritarian or totalitarian. There are no elections and the people have no power, which rests exclusively with the dictator (and his inner circle) and is achieved by force.

Dictators sometimes arise after the collapse of a government, when they lead a military group that exerts force to take control. If the existing government is weak in any way, these soon-to-be dictators can seize power. Sometimes these military leaders appoint themselves political stature (like declaring yourself emperor). Elected presidents and prime ministers can seize power by crushing opposition and creating one-party rule, which is possible when the government is weak. These leaders typically live in opulence by stealing the nation’s wealth.

Some dictatorships are temporary, to resolve a problem, with the dictator intending to return power to government after a crisis is over. Other dictators never intended doing so despite what they may have said. This gives us a few scenarios for creating such a character, though we’ll need a motivation for their decision.

A stable dictatorship can last a long time. A dictator may avoid too much provocation. Why would the dictator risk their extravagant lifestyle by stirring things up? It helps if an established dictator refrains from aggressive tactics such as war against neighbors, because losing a war tends to undermine their stature. New dictators, however, may need war to establish their power, earn respect, and enrich themselves (from foreign wealth they promise to their people but keep for themselves). They have less to lose. If a dictator dies and is replaced by a son, for example, this individual might need to establish himself, destabilizing the dictatorship. When creating a dictatorship, decide how old and stable it is.

Examples of dictatorships include the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin and Nazi Germany.

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