Basic Trope: An all-powerful dictator who is good at their job.
- Straight: General Ghoul of Ghoulistan is a benevolent ruler who works for the well-being of his subjects, and most of them like him.
- Exaggerated: General Ghoul of Ghoulistan rules over a Utopia where everyone proclaims their love for him daily, of their own volition.
- Downplayed: General Ghoul of Ghoulistan is a competent administrator who knows how to keep the Bread and Circuses coming and is Affably Evil to his allies, but tortures and murders his political opposition.
- Justified:
- General Ghoul seized power because he genuinely wanted what was good for his people.
- Ghoulistan, while autocratic, is a meritocracy where only the best educated and talented people are allowed in the reigns of power. General Ghoul gained power because he was a Renaissance Man who was good in everything he tried.
- General Ghoul knows if he behaves like a bad ruler, he'll be overthrown by the people. Being nice ensures a mob doesn't behead him.
- As a leader with absolute power, Ghoul doesn't have to deal with the hassles of democratic forms of government meaning his good policies can be implemented with few roadblocks.
- General Ghoul is an enlightened and spiritual man who abides by a personal code.
- Inverted: The Republic is an excellent place to live, while Ghoulistan under General Ghoul is an oppressive dictatorship.
- Subverted: Ghoulistan under General Ghoul seems nice and peaceful...but the protagonist discovers slums and concentration camps, and Ghoul is revealed to be a tyrannical psychopath.
- Double Subverted: Ghoul orders the slums to be repaired and cleaned up. And the concentration camps are where Ghoul's truly evil enemies and criminals are imprisoned.
- Parodied: General Ghoul orders the subjects of Ghoulistan to be given free lollipops.
- Zigzagged: Ghoul has both genuinely good policies (health care, gay rights, and subsidized public transit) and genuinely bad policies (imprisoning dissidents, a Cult of Personality, and secret police).
- Averted: General Ghoul is shown watching with glee as pro-democratic dissidents are tortured to death.
- Enforced:
- "All-powerful rule can be good is the right guy is in charge."
- The author wants to prove that Hobbes Was Right.
- Lampshaded: "This so-called dictator does a better job than any of our presidents."
- Defied: General Ghoul has to abide by the Ghoulistan Constitution and thus has checks and balances on his authority.
- Discussed: "Ghoul is making me rethink democracy."
- Deconstructed:
- While General Ghoul is good at his job, he faces power struggles, threats of assassination, and foreign rivals who want to take his job. Having to deal with enemies around him wears at his sanity, slowly turning him into The Caligula.
- Ultimately, ruling alone is extremely stressful. Ghoul suffers an early death due to the stress of managing so much.
- Ghoul may not be personally corrupt, but to keep his political power, he has to appease various political interests with favors and graft, allowing corruption to be entrenched in his regime.
- Ghoul is so good at his job that Ghoulistan can't function without him. When he dies or gets sick, no one can manage all the various interests, causing Ghoulistan to crumble into various factions.
- Ghoul may be a good leader, but if a less talented/more psychotic successor comes to power, that person could use his authority to turn Ghoulistan into a hellhole.
- Reconstructed:
- Ghoul's popularity is such that any rival for power would immediately be attacked by either his loyal army or the people.
- Ghoul has also ensured his civil service are also good at their jobs, meaning he can reduce his workload.
- Ghoul has enacted laws that ensure corrupt officials are removed from power before they can do any damage.
- Ghoul has put into place succession laws that ensure another competent person can fill his shoes after he dies in a way that doesn't alienate any of the major interests of Ghoulistan.
- Ghoul ensures that either his well-trained son or one of his most successful advisors can come to power with the establishment's backing.
- Played For Laughs: General Ghoul greets visitors to Ghoulistan by giving them free balloons.
- Played For Drama: The success of Ghoul's regime causes many people to become disillusioned with democracy.
