by Dhwani V Phuria
A government is one of the most important aspects of worldbuilding, especially if you want to create a nation or a world from scratch. So, shouldn't they get the variety they deserve? Fantasy books have a tendency to adhere towards a monarchy. Dystopian books, on the other hand, prefer an 'evil' or controlling governments for our protagonists to overthrow. This is, naturally, not the rule, as there are plenty of books depicting different types of governments, but, isn't monarchy, a political system revolving around one person or dynasty's sovereignty, the first thing that comes to our mind? Yet, after a point, this gets quite repetitive, and governments can be far more interesting than that.
Let's say, there is a monarchy in your story. I would ask you, what kind of monarchy? There is an absolute monarchy, where the ruler's word is law, and going against it is suicide — also a very interesting premise if you want to try your hand at a dystopian novel. There is ceremonial monarchy, which is the current case for most countries with royals, for example, today, the role of the very well-known British monarchy is only ceremonial in practice. The ruler is little more than a figurehead in this case, and instead, parliament rules the kingdom. For some time in Japan, there had been what we could call a puppet monarchy: a specific clan controlled everything the emperor did. Already, we have gone much further than simply 'royalty'. With this monarchy could come rules, of which those considering inheritance are often our first priority. There is the European precedent of patriarchy — kings and princes in power. A precedent for a matriarchy? In this case, the African Rain Queens of the Balobedu tribe are your answer.
Then, of course, we can go to empires which do not end at royalty either. There was the Persian Empire, where the emperor ruled from the capital, but had provinces divided into 'satrapies', handled by satraps — trust me, controlling an area that huge by yourself from one little city? It would be a complete disaster.
Next on the list, we come to republics. Officially, a republic means power is in the hands of the people, and they can elect a president or prime minister, and so on. Unofficially, it is a lot more complicated — which makes it a lot more interesting for writing purposes!
Most fascist powers stem from the ashes of what was supposed to be a republic. Mussolini became Prime Minister of Italy before he turned into the dictator, although that could quite possibly have been the goal all along. Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany in the 1933 elections, at that point considered simply a charismatic politician before he became the Nazi dictator of Germany and the countries that his army annexed. Scary, isn't it? That the republic and freedom you're so used to can easily become a dictatorship? Plus, it's much more realistic in a dystopian sense than the vague 'they overthrew the old system to take power'.
Consider communism. Its most well-known example would be the Soviet Union, or the USSR: Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. It called itself a 'republic', but one-party elections and no freedom of speech tell a different story. The fact is, the idea of communism was born from the ideology that those of the working class were being exploited by the ruling class, and that wealth should be redistributed so everyone is on equal footing. Doesn't sound so bad, does it?
This is the same ideology that got twisted to the point where it led to a one-party government that would be more suited to being called something akin to a dictatorship, where any form of opposition to the Party could get you in prison or even forced labour camps (gulags), and where the press was controlled to the dot9. Yet, many citizens believed, truly believed, that this way of life was superior, most higher-up officials among them.
Remember this: your government will always be infinitely more dangerous when those in power genuinely believe that they are doing the right thing.
Finally, we come to today's most common governments. Genuine republics with multiple political parties and regular elections, with freedom of press and freedom of speech. This, one might say, is not as fun to use in your writing —– everything is fine, isn't it? This would never serve any conflict in your storyline, and more importantly, it is highly unrealistic in practice.
Well, for one, freedom of press does not mean you can't get swept up in propaganda and smear campaigns. It does not mean that there is no misinformation circulating on purpose to serve political parties. Freedom of speech does not mean citizens can get away with saying anything. It most certainly does not mean that everything is 'fine', because if you want to write a realistic government, it must have flaws. This is not to say that it will turn evil or that corruption must be everywhere, simply that a utopian government makes little sense.
The worst of regimes can be made with what its administration believes are good intentions. It is much more terrifying, realistic and impactful, which is why I would suggest to fellow writers to write fictional governments that way. In much the same sense, the best of governments cannot be absolute perfection.
All of this ultimately helps create a more concrete government in your work, which then helps in many other aspects of worldbuilding. The regime determines key aspects of life in that state, and a vague sense of management cannot truly provide for all that a well-thought out fictional government offers. There is a reason that the Capitol from the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, or the Party from 1984 by George Orwell are so relevant in literature today: they present to you well-rounded governments, with its many facets, that shape the characters' lives, and though they are fictional, their parallels to real life engages readers with the story.
Citations
Sagers, John H. “Power, Legitimacy, and the Japanese Emperor.” Association for Asian Studies, 1 June 2023, www.asianstudies.org/publications/eaa/archives/power-legitimacy-and-the-japanese-emperor/.
Harris, Mia. “The Real-Life South African Rain Queens Who Inspired Marvel’s Storm - The Black History Girl Blog.” The Black History Girl Blog - - Your Source for All Things Black History -, 21 May 2024, theblackhistorygirl.com/the-real-life-south-african-rain-queens-who-inspired-marvels-storm/.
“Satrap.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., www.britannica.com/topic/satrap. Accessed 21 July 2024.
“Benito Mussolini Declares Himself Dictator of Italy.” History.Com, A&E Television Networks, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/benito-mussolini-declares-himself-dictator-of-italy. Accessed 21 July 2024.
“Germany 1933: From Democracy to Dictatorship.” Anne Frank Website, www.annefrank.org/en/anne-frank/go-in-depth/germany-1933-democracy-dictatorship/. Accessed 21 July 2024.
Team, The Investopedia. “Marxism: What It Is and Comparison to Communism, Socialism, and Capitalism.” Investopedia, Investopedia, www.investopedia.com/terms/m/marxism.asp. Accessed 21 July 2024.
“Soviet.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., www.britannica.com/topic/soviet-government-unit. Accessed 21 July 2024.
“Soviet Union - Countries, Cold War & Collapse.” History.Com, A&E Television Networks, www.history.com/topics/european-history/history-of-the-soviet-union. Accessed 21 July 2024.
Lauk, Epp. “Practice of Soviet Censorship in the Press.” Nordicom, www.nordicom.gu.se/sites/default/files/kapitel-pdf/37_lauk.pdf. Accessed 21 July 2024.
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