The Magocracy - Television Tropes & Idioms

"The Ministry can handle this!"

A society ruled by wizards. Wizards, 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 Muggle figurehead on the throne, but clearly power lies with the spellcasters.

Can be good, bad, or indifferent. Sometimes overlaps with Witch Species; if everyone can cast spells, the Magocracy is usually depicted as good or indifferent. If the wizards rule over a population of Muggles, on the other hand, they are more likely to be evil.

If laws of magic require intense study and not just a talent, natural limitation may be sharing time between magic improvement and actual ruling. Then immortal wizards break this limit, having centuries to both accumulate knowledge and entrench themselves in power little bit by bit.

Related to Authority Equals Asskicking (more likely ass-fireballing). If there's not just a handful of magic-users but the whole society is influenced, it likely to develop lots of Magitek.

Examples:

The Ministry of Magic in Harry Potter. Muggles are explicitly outside their jurisdiction, and the Minister of Magic consults with the U.K.'s Prime Minister on matters which affect both — albeit in infuriatingly high-handed fashion.
- However, Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindewald once wanted the other kind of Magocracy: wizards ruling over Muggles.
The wizards of Unseen University set up a magical dictatorship in the Discworld novel Sourcery. The results are not pretty.
In the Codex Alera series by Jim Butcher, station is based on the strength of your furies, marking the society as magocratic even though everyone can wield furies except Tavi.
The Witches Council in Sabrina The Teenage Witch.
Very common in Dungeons And Dragons
- Widespread in the Forgotten Realms: Netheril was full of Magitek, inhumanly arrogant, but mostly non-evil (if not good) Archwizards with magical lngevity ruled over Muggles — until their abuses of magic provoked turning the entire region into a barren desert and rose to stealing the power from goddess of magic, killing her, them and damaging the world's magic circuit. Thay and Luskan are evil magocracies (Thay got better later when pro-trade attitude won). Sshamath is a city-state as nice as possible for evil drow. The kingdom of Halruua in the southern Realms is a good Magocracy, where magic is freely available to all citizens.
- Mystara also had the Principalities of Glantri, a smaller Magocracy with capital like Venice, diverse subdomains like Switzerland, and great hostility to clerics. Glantri and Alphatia both have magic-users outranking non-magicians, though Alphatia honors clerics as well as arcane magicians.
  - Both Glantri and Alphatia have their faults. The former is scornful of divine casters and not all that bad on Muggles; the latter is respectful of divine casters and condescending-to-malicious to Muggles, depending on where you are. Herath also qualifies as a Magocracy if you don't require that the ruling mages be humanoids.
- Speaking of which, the Dungeons And Dragons movie features a corrupt Magocracy, Izmer, albeit led by a Muggle Empress. Or So I Heard. This was, incidentally, based on the empire of Alphatia from the Mystara setting (magical kingdom, young empress, thriving subculture of thieves), which was not quite as corrupt but still had its fair share of internal disputes.
  - Not that close a match. Thieves actually don't have it so good in Alphatia, and Izmer is microscopic by comparison.
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 a democracy, 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.
Corrupt version seen in The Bartimaeus Trilogy.
The nobility in Zero No Tsukaima are all mages.
Technically, the world of Code Geass has(or had) two magocracies: The Britannian Empire of Charles Zi Britannia, a Geass adept who employed hundreds of other adepts secretly in the service of his empire as agents. The second is the global regime of Lelouch Vi Britannia, Magnificent Bastard and one of only two adepts remaining. He also calls himself a warlock or demon, so this is slightly highlighted.
Final Fantasy IV has the Epopts of Troia, a group of white magicians and diviners. Mysidia is also this, although it more theocracy than a typical government.
In Final Fantasy VIII, Galbadia becomes a type of magocracy once Edea puts a lightning bolt through the president's chest and assumes command.
In Final Fantasy XI, the Federation of Windurst has such a government. It is led by the mystic Star Sybil, with five ministries headed by powerful mages.
Dalaran in Warcraft. It was the smallest of the human kingdoms, but rather influential. That is, until the Scourge and Burning Legion ravaged it.
- Now after years of renovations it's back, and has moved (quite literally) to Northrend as the new central city in the Wrath expansion. It is the first city in World Of Warcraft to float in midair.
  - Except for Halaa. And arguably Outland as a whole.
The Academy/Tower faction in the Heroes Of Might And Magic series.
The Chaos Dwarfs are ruled by their evil sorcerers in Warhammer.
- As are the Lizardmen, although the Slann spend most of their time pondering magical secrets and leave the day to day running to the Skinks.
Literary example: A pair of novels by Lawrence Watt-Evans, The Cyborg and the Sorcerers and The Wizard and the War Machine, are set on an After The End planet where Psychic Powers are considered magic, whose countries are all ruled by mutant Magocracies. Yet each nation's government is different; some good, some bad, some outright incompetent.
Mahou Sensei Negima's world is like this, though the wizards controlling it pretend to not have much influence, they're responsible for most of the planet's safety. They also tend to hold important positions.
Though they seem mostly unconcerned with Muggle affairs unless someone offers them money or messes with one of their own, the Bondsmagi of Scott Lynch's Gentleman Bastards series are theorized by some characters to actually run the world in secret. The author has implied that the Bondsmagi are happy to let the Muggles run their own lives... unless something pops up which threatens their own power, at which point they step in.
Mage: the Awakening has the Seers of the Throne, who, while not absolute rulers of the world, have a great deal of power amongst world governments and other organisations, as well as being organised in a bureaucracy. The Silver Ladder has the goal of ousting the Seers and replacing their rule with a meritocratic Gnostocracy.
- The fanmade gameline Genius The Transgression has two major Magocracies: Lemuria, a group of mostly Chaotic Evil mad scientists who think they rule the world, and The Peerage, a group of mostly Chaotic Good mad scientiests who make shure they don't. Interestingly, Lemuria and the aforementioned Seers of the Throne are physically unable to recognize each other.
In Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn series, the titular Mistborn sorcerers are supposed to be restricted to the ranks of the nobility. However, illegal interbreeding between classes has resulted in the power cropping up among the peasant race here and there.
There are passing references to a nation called "The Witchocracy" in China Mieville's Bas-Lag series, but it hasn't been explored in any great detail.
- Another nation, High Cromlech, is a thanatocracy; ruled by the undead. But this does rather imply that those at the top use some fairly hefty necromancy to keep themselves and their undead minions alive.
The Time-Space Administration Bureau in Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha is a combination of this and The Federation. It monitors Lost Technology throughout the worlds; to prevent Magitek beyond a certain level from being used. In their own history, technology had gotten to the point where children could activate Weapons of Mass Destruction; and only magic could stop it. They have more of a military aspect than most Magocracies and they leave Muggles alone, with more respect than most examples.
The Land of Oz is this. It's a benevolent dictatorship ruled over by Glinda the Good and Princess Ozma, a fairy.
Both the Realm and the First Age Solar Deliberative from the RPG Exalted are these, being oligarchic (though the Realm is SUPPOSED to be a monarchy) states ruled by human beings given the powers of the gods.
Tar Valon in The Wheel Of Time, governed by the Aes Sedai.
- Also, the Aes Sedai (especially the Blue Ajah) tend to meddle in the political affairs of the rest of the world, and many rulers willingly keep the counsel of an Aes Sedai advisor.
- Also in The Wheel Of Time, a largely unseen land is Shara, which is only mentioned in passing. However, in The World of Robert Jordan's the Wheel of Time, it mentions that it is secretly a Magocracy with a puppet Muggle leader. If the Muggle leader asks too many questions they tend to have 'accidents'.
- Meanwhile, Seanchan on the other side of the world is a complete aversion, where all the magic-users are enslaved by the Muggle rulers.
  - 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 Shapers of the Geneforge series. They pretty much rule the world with an iron fist; they come down very hard on anyone who tries to learn Shaping (using essence to create and alter new forms of life) without their permission, or any beings created by Shaping that are less than fully subservient. Even "conventional" mages generally find their studies hampered by the Shapers and their restrictions on magic. Unsurprisingly, more than a few Muggles and intelligent creations have Turned Against Their Masters.
- The Shapers have good cause to be repressive, however. Unrestricted Shaping can lead to catastrophe in dozens of different ways: disease, ecosystem destruction, rogue creations breeding, and individual Shapers going mad with power to name a few.
- Also note that it's pretty much a toss-up whether they're a magocracy or a society of Emperor Scientists, depending on whether they're using Magitek or Magic From Technology
Tech Infantry, has, almost regardless of the style of government among various human factions, either Mages or Vampires as the outright rulers, or the shadowy powers behind the throne. Pretty much all of the endless series of Civil Wars that the Earth Federation goes through are really power struggles among different factions of Mages and Vampires over who gets to be the power behind the throne this decade, with ordinary humans caught in the middle or used as cannon fodder by both sides.
Most countries in the Doctrine Of Labyrinths series 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.
Talislanta has Cymril, one of the Seven Kingdoms, and the city-state of Phantas.
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 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 the Court of Gods, who are mostly figureheads, and their priests (though said priests are often powerful Awakeners themselves).
GURPS has this on it's list of government types, as a subset of meritocracy.
The regions controlled by House Telvani in Morrowind fall under this, as all the lords of the areas are high-ranking members of House Telvani, and to be high-ranking in that house you have to be a very proficient magic user ~~and backstabber~~.
The Empire of Ottovar in David Weber 's War God 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...
The Tevinter Imperium who rules blew up Hevan