The Magocracy: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

A society ruled by wizards. Wizard'''s''', plural, that is—a king or queen who just happens to be a spellcaster doesn't count, nor does the traditional tower-dwelling [[Evil Overlord]]. This is a relatively normal society (for a given value of "normal") that is governed by a magic-using oligarchy. Sometimes there is a [[Muggles|Muggle]] figurehead on the throne, but clearly power lies with the spellcasters.

* ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'''s magical world is like this, and being a pocket universe that was ''created'' by a mage, it's rather to be expected. The real world, though, is more [[Harry Potter]]-style "mages in charge of governing themselves and keeping themselves secret, nothing more". They get a little influence by posing as unreasonably talented mercenaries and NGOs, but nothing beyond lobbying and combat work.

* The Time-Space Administration Bureau in ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]]'' looks to fall into this mold at first, but there are subtle hints of a subversion in the form of Amy Linetta, who never demonstrates magical ability but is in a position of fairly high responsibility aboard the local [[Cool Ship]]. ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS|Striker S]]'' makes the subversion much more blatant, with numerous non-magically-able TSAB personnel featuring. These include an apparent [[Muggle]] commanding a battalion of mages and Regius Graz, head of the Ground Forces branch, is explicitly a [[Muggle]] who got his start with the Bureau as a good trainer. The TSAB appears to actually be very egalitarian, allowing those who can lead to lead regardless of whether they measure up in magical combat.

 

 

* The Empire in the ''[[Star Wars]]'' trilogy, and various other Sith states in the [[Expanded Universe]]. In the [[Expanded Universe]], it's implied that the Emperor was shooting for being the immortal god-emperor of a magotheocratic empire. The Galactic Republic, on the other hand, is [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|a republic]], with the Jedi Council playing an advisory and military role—though note that in ''Revenge of the Sith'', Darth Sidious uses fear of a Jedi coup to force through his own takeover of the state.

** In most stories, the Jedi are essentially an [[NGO Superpower]]. Whether and to what extent they are actually answerable to the Republic (or it to them) is essentially [[Depending on the Writer]].

 

 

*** Though part of the reason they developed such a hatred of magic users and got to where they are is because when they first got there that half of the world was ruled by magic-users who fought among themselves for power.

* The Empire of Ottovar in [[David Weber]] 's ''[[The War Gods|WarGod]]'' series. 10,000 years of peace and prosperity founded by the greatest Wizards of all time. The Elves are actually a by-product of their work,taking hereditary warlocks and changing how they use the magical field to give up magic. The Empire was ruled by the emperor as well as the Council of Ottovar who prevented the misuse of magic and researched. Of course part of the backstory of the series is those 10,000 years ended rather badly and there's exactly one wizard left who isn't evil. Suddenly having a Magocracy is a bit of a problem when there aren't any left...

* Most countries in ''[[Doctrine of Labyrinths]]'' seem to be run this way, ranging from more or less benevolent to downright oppressive. Melusine in particular is jointly ruled by an annemer (nonwizard) Lord Protector and the Curia, a council of the most influential wizards.

* Inverted in ''[[Warbreaker]]''—while most people in power in Hallandren are also skilled Awakeners, this is because they have used their wealth to buy the [[Mana|Breath]] needed to fuel the magic. In other words, the magic is like a fancy car or house in our world- not a source of influence, but a definite sign of it. Of course, ultimate power in Hallandren lies in [[Physical God|the Court of Gods]], who are mostly figureheads, and their priests (though said priests are often powerful Awakeners themselves).