History Main / GoodRepublicEvilEmpire

This trope originates in the wake of the success of anti-monarchical revolutions, UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution and UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution. The American Revolution is commonly invoked as an example of brave Americans fighting for democracy and freedom from the tyrannical British monarchy. [[note]]Although, ironically, the war was a {{subversion}} of this trope, seeing as both sides were democratic: Britain was a ''constitutional'' monarchy, remember. The Americans were also backed by the absolute monarch of France UsefulNotes/LouisXVI who would invite his own revolution in turn; ''which was inspired by the very revolution he'd supported''[[/note]] The French Revolution is also portrayed like this though with greater focus on [[ReignOfTerror fears of mob rule,]] with the [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized revolutionaries more likely to be shown as]] {{Well Intentioned Extremist}}s or HeWhoFightsMonsters. In either case, neither revolution is shown in the context of its time and place, with attention to its complexity and multiple causes. So it directly feeds into this trope's [[BlackAndWhiteMorality binary opposition]] between a [[AlwaysLawfulGood Republic that is Good]] and an [[AlwaysChaoticEvil Empire or Kingdom that is Bad.]] What both revolutions did achieve was that it was the first time it proved that a republic can govern and rule over a large area of land, taking apart what was formerly believed to be the main argument in favor of Kingdoms, that republics were good for city states but not for large areas.

* ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTellius Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn]]'' presents a bit of an inversion with Begnion. While it is most definitely an Empire (Empress and all), it does have some of the trappings of a Republic (Senators and all). But the empress is good, and the senators are evil.

* When ComicBook/CaptainMarvel overthrows an evil monarch in that era he always had a democracy set up.

Note: When editing this page, for the love of {{God}}, Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease History is WrittenByTheVictors, so of course every war is going to be portrayed like this, making it TruthInTelevision for people in the winning country and RealityIsUnrealistic for people in the losing country. This includes UsefulNotes/WorldWarII.

Note: When editing this page, for the love of {{God}}, please [[Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease don't add examples]] from RealLife. History is WrittenByTheVictors, so of course every war is going to be portrayed like this, making it TruthInTelevision for people in the winning country and RealityIsUnrealistic for people in the losing country. This includes UsefulNotes/WorldWarII.

Note: When editing this page, for the love of {{God}}, please [Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease don't add examples] from RealLife. History is WrittenByTheVictors, so of course every war is going to be portrayed like this, making it TruthInTelevision for people in the winning country and RealityIsUnrealistic for people in the losing country. This includes UsefulNotes/WorldWarII.

Note: When editing this page, for the love of {{God}}, please don't add examples from RealLife. History is WrittenByTheVictors, so of course every war is going to be portrayed like this, making it TruthInTelevision for people in the winning country and RealityIsUnrealistic for people in the losing country. This includes UsefulNotes/WorldWarII.

** The spin off series [[CodeGeass:AkitoTheExiled ''Akito the Exiled'']] makes it clear that the EU wasn't functionally much better than Britannia, being just as elitist and racist, and corrupt to its core.

* It's not entirely clear whether ''Anime/CodeGeass'' subverts or plays this straight, the antagonists for most of the series are the Brittanian Empire, and the Black Knights form the United States of Japan and United Federation of Nations. But earlier the EU was the only major power that was democratic and [[HufflepuffHouse was so weak it was barely even mentioned]].

* Creator/GeorgeOrwell, in his 1946 non-fiction essay, "Politics and the English Language", {{Lampshaded}} this trope, noting that in the modern era, [[PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny nations that go to war always refer to themselves as "democracies" and their enemies as "fascist", regardless of whether they actually are.]]

* ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'' has what may well be an in-universe invocation of this (even if it plays it straight): the Romulan Star Empire (after the Hobus incident) have developed into a combined military dictatorship/police state with Sela having enshrined herself as a ruling Empress and having the Senate under her thumb, while working in alliance with the Tal Shiar to maintain control over other colony worlds. The Romulan ''Republic'' starts the game as a rebel movement consisting of a coalition of Reunificationists[[note]]Romulans who want to reconnect with Vulcan and Surak's followers[[/note]], other Romulan and Reman dissidents and Romulans who got driven to dissidence over having serious reservations about Sela's and the Tal Shiar's methods, and early on colonises a world to serve as a capital for setting up a rival government (an alliance with the Federation and the Klingon Empire acts as a shield to keep Sela from just launching a full-scale invasion) explicitly meant to be a more open, freer society than the old Star Empire, and to all appearances living up to that.

* Seems to be inverted in ''Webcomic/QuentynQuinnSpaceRanger'' by the end of the [[http://www.rhjunior.com/QQSR/00044.html Star Trek parody]], though it's not so much that the Federation is evil and the Empire of the Seven Systems is good as much as it's a rant about the author's views on socialism.

The villains, on the other hand, will usually be a [[TheEmpire totalitarian dictatorship]] led by a single [[TheEmperor supreme king or emperor]] ([[FemalesAreMoreInnocent it's usually a]] [[TheUnfairSex man]]), or sometimes a [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen queen or empress]]. The dictator may have a council of advisers, but with the exception of TheStarscream, none of them are in any doubt as to who is really the boss. If there is such a council, it will be hand-picked by the BigBad rather than being elected or passing some sort of qualification test, and will often include TheDragon.

The villains, on the other hand, will usually be a [[TheEmpire totalitarian dictatorship]] led by a single [[TheEmperor supreme king or emperor]] ([[FemalesAreMoreInnocent it's usually a man]]), or sometimes a [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen queen or empress]]. The dictator may have a council of advisers, but with the exception of TheStarscream, none of them are in any doubt as to who is really the boss. If there is such a council, it will be hand-picked by the BigBad rather than being elected or passing some sort of qualification test, and will often include TheDragon.

* Inversion in ''Webcomic/DarthsAndDroids'' which plays with the set-up from ''Franchise/StarWars''. Palpatine is presented as a fairly good guy even as he accrues personal power- he's just easily manipulated by the corrupt elected officials in the Senate, and by Vader.

** Semi-inverted. The Emperor of Malkuth is a good ruler who is popular with his subjects... and the King of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear has good intentions, but is ultimately incompetent (as is his brother-in-law, the protagonist's father).

** There's the "Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire", though it's more of a place where the evil Jagrafess permits humanity to live and be manipulated by the media as sheep rather than an actual human empire. The Doctor's comments at the beginning of the story however suggest it's meant to be an aversion of the "evil empire" trope, that's just been hoodwinked by the Jagrafess.

* Played straight and subverted in ''{{Franchise/Gundam}}'' metaseries, both TheFederation and TheEmpire [[GrayAndGrayMorality never portrayed as completely good or evil]], TheKingdom is often the only one that's LawfulGood or NeutralGood, but tend to be powerless and portrayed as a victim of the war raging between aforementioned larger factions.

* Subverted in ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'', in which the titular city is ruled by [[TheKingdom a single hereditary lord and his advisers]], and the antagonistic Luskan is ruled by a dictatorial council of five High Captains backed by the might of the Host Tower.

The good guys are often democratic members of TheFederation, or at least led by some sort of council. If there is a monarch, she ([[WomenAreWiser it's usually a]] [[EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses princess]]) will always listen to her advisers and, if she has a veto, would never dream of overruling the prime minister or chief commander. The SupportingLeader is often a member of this council. In some cases, the council's commitment to consensus rule may get in the way of taking action against the villains; this can provide drama for an episode, as the [[FiveManBand heroes]] have to take matters into their own hands and act without the approval of their bosses.

The villains, on the other hand, will usually be a [[TheEmpire totalitarian dictatorship]] led by a single [[TheEmperor supreme king or emperor]]. He ([[FemalesAreMoreInnocent it's usually a he]]) may have a council of advisers, but with the exception of TheStarscream, none of them are in any doubt as to who is really the boss. If there is such a council, it will be hand-picked by the BigBad rather than being elected or passing some sort of qualification test, and will often include TheDragon.

This trope at times can be ''so'' strong that any monarchies featured within the story (either good or evil) will be converted into democracies or republics by the story's end, just to show how superior democracy is as a form of government. These transitions nearly always happen more smoothly than they would in real life. There's no jockeying for power by TheRemnant: those who want to keep the monarchy going, the kindly prince who gracefully abdicates would never find himself a target of assassination either by enemies of his former administration or by fanatics who see him as a class-traitor, kingdoms never find themselves splitting up into smaller groups acrimoniously opposed to each other, and of course the Republic doesn't face issues concerning class, economy and wealth distribution.

This trope originates in the wake of the success of anti-monarchical revolutions, UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution and UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution. The American Revolution is commonly invoked as an example of brave Americans fighting for democracy and freedom from the tyrannical British monarchy. [[note]]Although, ironically, the war was a {{subversion}} of this trope, seeing as both sides were democratic: Britain was a ''constitutional'' monarchy, remember. The Americans were also backed by the absolute monarch of France UsefulNotes/LouisXVI who would invite his own revolution in turn; ''which was inspired by the very revolution he'd supported''[[/note]] The French Revolution is also portrayed like this though with greater focus on fears of mob rule, with the revolutionaries more likely to be shown as {{Well Intentioned Extremist}}s or HeWhoFightsMonsters. In either case, neither revolution is shown in the context of its time and place, with attention to its complexity and multiple causes. So it directly feeds into this trope's binary opposition between a Republic that is Good and an Empire or Kingdom that is Bad. What both revolutions did achieve was that it was the first time it proved that a republic can govern and rule over a large area of land, taking apart what was formerly believed to be the main argument in favor of Kingdoms, that republics were good for city states but not for large areas.

The good guys are often democratic members of TheFederation, or at least led by some sort of council. If there is a monarch, she ([[WomenAreWiser it's usually a]] [[TheHighQueen queen]] or [[EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses princess]]) will always listen to her advisers and, if she has a veto, would never dream of overruling the prime minister or chief commander. The SupportingLeader is often a member of this council. In some cases, the council's commitment to consensus rule may get in the way of taking action against the villains; this can provide drama for an episode, as the [[FiveManBand heroes]] have to take matters into their own hands and act without the approval of their bosses.

* Subverted in the ''Literature/CoDominium'' series, were the resistance often want republican forms of government, but [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized often use violent and unethical methods to achieve their goals]], or end up being {{hypocrite}}s. True Empires (led by a constitutional monarchy) are often portrayed as positive (or at least not as malevolent).
** Well, sort of; In the ''Warworld'' series, the First Empire fell as much from corruption and factionalism as from the Sauron Rebellion, and the Second Empire is portrayed as fanatical {{Well Intentioned Extremist}}s in ''King David's Spaceship'' and described as being in a slow decline in ''The Gripping Hand''.

The good guys are often democratic members of TheFederation, or at least led by some sort of council. If there is a monarch, she (it's usually a queen or [[EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses princess]]) will always listen to her advisers and, if she has a veto, would never dream of overruling the prime minister or chief commander. The SupportingLeader is often a member of this council. In some cases, the council's commitment to consensus rule may get in the way of taking action against the villains; this can provide drama for an episode, as the [[FiveManBand heroes]] have to take matters into their own hands and act without the approval of their bosses.

The villains, on the other hand, will usually be a [[TheEmpire totalitarian dictatorship]] led by a single [[TheEmperor supreme king or emperor]]. He (it's usually a he) may have a council of advisers, but with the exception of TheStarscream, none of them are in any doubt as to who is really the boss. If there is such a council, it will be hand-picked by the BigBad rather than being elected or passing some sort of qualification test, and will often include TheDragon.

* Many books in the Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse use this trope just as much as the movies did, but not all. Timothy Zahn's novels tend to feature an Empire that's, well, more complex than BlackAndWhiteMorality. In the HandOfThrawn duology, it's not evil at all, and the Supreme Commander is trying to [[PeaceConference make peace]] with the New Republic. Problem is, there are some Imperials who refuse to let that happen...

** In ''[[WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated Animated]]'' the Autobots government, while still a republic, appears to be a military dictatorship run by a junta. The High Council has one civilian member Alpha Trion, who mentions that he does not have any power. All the rest appear to be heads of branches of the military with the Magnus acting as chair.

This trope originates in the wake of the success of anti-monarchical revolutions, UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution and UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution. The American Revolution is commonly invoked as an example of brave Americans fighting for democracy and freedom from the tyrannical British monarchy. [[note]]Although, ironically, the war was a {{subversion}} of this trope, seeing as both sides were democratic: Britain was a ''constitutional'' monarchy, remember. The Americans were also backed by the absolute monarch of France UsefulNotes/LouisXVI who would invite his own revolution in turn; ''which was inspired by the very revolution he'd supported''[[/note]] The French Revolution is also portrayed like this though with greater focus on fears of mob rule, with the revolutionaries more likely to be shown as {{Well Intentioned Extremist}}s or HeWhoFightsMonsters. In either case, neither revolutions are shown in the context of its time and place, with attention to its complexity and multiple causes. So it directly feeds into this trope's binary opposition between a Republic that is Good and an Empire or Kingdom that is Bad. What both revolutions did achieve was that it was the first time it proved that a republic can govern and rule over a large area of land, taking apart what was formerly believed to be the main argument in favor of Kingdoms, that republics were good for city states but not for large areas.

** A republic with a king isn't such a strange idea, depending on how powerful the king is; a state with a figurehead monarch will tend to function as a republic in practice, but since the term "republic" tends to connote the absence of any kind of monarch it will rarely if ever be called that in RealLife.

** While TheFederation is ostensibly a democracy, its member worlds have been shown to be somewhat mixed as to their form of government. An episode of [[StarTrekTheOriginalSeries the Original Series]] had a member world where the elites lived in a cloud city while the workers, who were little more than slaves due to the conditions of the mines, lived on the surface in caves.

* ''ShiningForceIII'' features the Republic of Aspinia (which has a ''king'') and the Empire of Destonia. Guess which one's evil!

** It's actually averted in ''ShiningForceIII''. On disc I ([[BadExportForYou the only disc that came to the U.S.]]), you play as the Republic against the Empire and the Cultists. On disc II, you play as the Empire against the Republic and the Cultists. Disc III is when everyone realizes that the Cultists are the only real bad guys and go against them.
* Played straight as an arrow in ''KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'', with Darth Malak as the absolute authority over the evil Sith Empire and the Dark Jedi themselves battling the Senate-controlled Republic and the Council-ruled Jedi.