Worldbuilding Wednesday - Politics in the Making

As authors we make many decisions. The story, setting, characters all lie in our imaginations and storytelling. In traditional novels we may choose to set the story in the real world as we know it - or perhaps an alternative history to our world, however, in fantasy and science fiction we create not only our story but the story of the world in which our story takes place. There are many things to consider when we build worlds.

Government is but one element. There are many types of government we have experienced in our world through various cultures throughout the world throughout the years. When you consider worldbuilding for your story, what type of government will rule your world? Here are some possibilities to consider:




• Absolute Monarchy -- kingdom in which monarch has complete power


• Anarchy -- absence of government


• Aristocracy -- government by a wealthy, privileged minority or hereditary ruling class


• Caliphate -- government by Islamic civil and religious leader


• Civil Government -- government established by laws made by citizens or their representatives; nonmilitary, nonreligious authority


• Coalition Government -- temporary alliance of members of two or more parties to form governing majority


• Collective -- group or institution organized and run by all members equally


• Commonwealth -- government in which ultimate authority lies with people


• Constitutionalism -- government based on written constitutional principles


• Constitutional Monarchy -- government headed by monarch and regulated by constitution


• Democracy -- government by the people with majority rule exercised in periodic, free election of representatives


• Despotism -- government in which ruler exercise absolute power


• Dictatorship -- government in which absolute power rest with one person or a few


• Duarchy or duumvirate -- government by two equally powerful rulers


• Dyarchy -- dual responsibility shared by colonial government and native ministers


• Empire -- several territories, nations or peoples governed by single sovereign authority


• Fascism -- government based on establishing oppressive, one-part, centralized national regime

• Federal Government -- system in which political units surrender individual sovereignty to central authority, but retain designated powers


• Feudalism -- political system in Europe from 9th to 15th century in which lord owned all property worked by vassals


• Gerontocarcy -- rule by elders


• Gynecocracy -- government by women


• Hagiocracy -- government by group of persons believed to be holy


• Hierocracy -- rule by priest or clergy


• Isocracy -- government in which all individuals have equal political power


• Matriarchy -- government or monarchy in which power rests with females or descends through female line


• Meritocracy -- government in which criterion for leadership is skill or intellectual achievement


• Monarchy -- government with absolute hereditary ruler who serves for life


• Ochlocracy -- rule by the multitude or mob


• Oligarchy -- government by small group of privileged individuals


• Pantisocracy -- utopia in which all members rule equally


• Parliamentary Government -- system in which executive (prime minister) is chosen by elected legislature (parliament) from among its members


• Patriarchy -- government or monarchy in which power rests with males or descends through male line


• Plutocracy -- government by the wealthy


• Principality -- state ruled by a prince, often part of larger state or empire


• Regency -- reign of non-monarch during youth or indisposition of monarch


• Republic -- government in which power is vested in elected representatives of citizenry


• Sovereignty -- political autonomy and freedom of state from outside authority


• Stratocracy -- government by the military


• Technocracy -- government run by experts and technicians


• Thearchy -- government based on divine sovereignty


• Theocracy -- government by church officials, who believe they have divine authority


• Timocracy -- government based on love of honor and military glory or on requisite ownership of property


• Totalitarianism -- authoritarian political system in which citizen is totally subject to will of state


• Triarchy -- government ruled jointly by three person; triumvirate


• Tyranny -- government by single absolute authority, especially one exercising oppressive power


• Unitary Government -- system in which power is held by single central source, and local governments are merely administrative agents, the opposite of federalism


• Welfare State -- system in which ultimate responsibility of government is well being of all citizens





Choosing how to run your country will have an obvious impact on every day life. Where will your imagination lead you and your story? Which system of government will you opt for in your world? Why? Think about the impact it will have one your storyline and how the storyline will depend on details such as this. It is mindboggling how much the change of one detail, such as government, can change your entire story.





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