History Main / GoodRepublicEvilEmpire

[[folder:Fan Fiction]]

* Subverted in ''Literature/LegendOfGalacticHeroes'': The protagonists are an officer in TheFederation's navy and a nobleman of TheEmpire, both of which are [[GoodRunningEvil sympathetic authority figures of very corrupt governments]]. After Reinhard von Lohengramm takes charge, it's the autocratic empire that's reforming, and the Free Planets Alliance that is increasingly repressive. The biggest irony is that despite being less populated and smaller than the Empire, the Alliance has fought it to a standstill for 150 years, and even with its corrupt elite, its GDP by capita was nearly twice that of the Empire. Reinhart himself admits that [[spoiler:if the Alliance's idealists had not been blocked by a glass ceiling, he would not have been able to beat them]]. It's actually the whole reason of Yang's loyalty toward the Alliance: he claims repeatedly that the worst democracy is still better that the best dictatorship.

* Played with in ''Franchise/MassEffect''. Asari governments tend to be loose, accommodating republics and turians are governed under an autocratic empire, but members of both species seem to be satisfied with their leadership. (It helps that the turian government is an meritocracy rather than a garden-variety dictatorship.) However, come ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' humanity is supported by the turians from the beginning. [[SubvertedTrope Meanwhile]], the asari spend most of the war [[HeadintheSandManagement with their heads in the sand]], [[EmpireWithADarkSecret keeping a critical advantage laying around]] until too late to use. Played straight with the Batarian Hegemony, however, which is a straightforward totalitarian regime considered a rogue state by the Citadel, and as per the "Leviathan" DLC had evidence of the Reapers' existence twenty years ago and kept it secret so they'd be the only ones to benefit.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'', when Mad Mod conquers America and makes it like a [[TheThemeParkVersion Theme Park Version]] of Britain, the Titans are unable to defeat him until Starfire makes a RousingSpeech about how [[AnAesop democracy is so great]]. The speech isn't about voting or anything (they've tried that a lot, and it hasn't worked), but compromise, which is encouraged by a system where you have to come up with a way to agree with the opposing party if anything's going to get done, and pretty much boils down to "E pluribus unum" - out of many, one.

* Subverted in ''Anime/LegendOfGalacticHeroes'': The protagonists are an officer in TheFederation's navy and a nobleman of TheEmpire, both of which are [[GoodRunningEvil sympathetic authority figures of very corrupt governments]]. After Reinhard von Lohengramm takes charge, it's the autocratic empire that's reforming, and the Free Planets Alliance that is increasingly repressive. The biggest irony is that despite being less populated and smaller than the Empire, the Alliance has fought it to a standstill for 150 years, and even with its corrupt elite, its GDP by capita was nearly twice that of the Empire. Reinhart himself admits that [[spoiler:if the Alliance's idealists had not been blocked by a glass ceiling, he would not have been able to beat them]]. It's actually the whole reason of Yang's loyalty toward the Alliance: he claims repeatedly that the worst democracy is still better that the best dictatorship.

* Subverted in ''Anime/LegendOfGalacticHeroes''. The protagonists are an officer in TheFederation's navy and a nobleman of TheEmpire. As the series goes on, we get to see both civilizations from the point of view of both characters, how each system has its own advantages and disadvantages, and how it ultimately boils down to what people are running them.
** In case of TheFederation, the viewer sort of expects TheEmpire not to be a bowl of peaches, but not the democratic alliance of former freedom fighters...

* Partly subverted in ''Anime/LegendOfGalacticHeroes'', as the Galactic Empire and Free Planets Alliance are both initially corrupt. After Reinhard von Lohengramm takes charge, it's the autocratic empire that's reforming, and the Free Planets Alliance that is increasingly repressive. The biggest irony is that despite being less populated and smaller than the Empire, the Alliance has fought it to a standstill for 150 years, and even with its corrupt elite, its GDP by capita was nearly twice as big as the Empire. Reinhart himself admits that [[spoiler:if the Alliance's idealists had not been blocked by a glass ceiling, he would not have been able to beat them]]. It's actually the whole reason of Yang's loyalty toward the Alliance: he claims repeatedly that the worst democracy is still better that the best dictatorship.

Contrast DemocracyIsBad and PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny. That trope and this one here are on opposing ends of the RomanticismVersusEnlightenment match.

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

* Subverted in ''Manga/MagicKnightRayearth''. Autozam is one of the invading countries. But unlike Chizeta and Fahren, which are monarchies, Autozam has a president. Autozam's representative, Eagle Vision (who is the president's son), comes closest to succeeding in becoming Pillar. And while he is an antagonist, he is certainly not a villain. A country having a president with a son named Eagle Vision- ''DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything''???

** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'' has the Adrestrian Empire, although it is soon to be headed by Edelgard, who is a good figure willing to right the wrongs its dark past has caused. The students hailing from the Empire are all good-natured people as well. [[spoiler:This is complicated by the second part of the story, where Edelgard instigates a war and invades the rest of the continent. Due to the [[BranchingPath nature of the game]] [[GrayAndGrayMorality and writing]], whether this trope is played straight still depends on the player's action and values. On the one hand, Edelgard's reasoning for starting the war is [[UnreliableNarrator based on false information]] and no matter how one cuts it, her action leads to the death of countless people, leaving her empire as the unquestionable dominant power of the continent should she come out the victor. On the other hand, the [[CorruptChurch core of her argument]] has merits, she is portrayed with varying degree of sympathy depending on the route (with her own framing her as arguably more of an [[AntiHero Anti-Hero]]) and should she [[WellIntentionedExtremist succeeds]], the Empire manages to bring about a meritocratic golden age that is portrayed just as positively as the outcome of any other route.]]

* Subverted in ''VideoGame/IronStorm''. Turns out that both TheFederation (for which your character is fighting) and TheEmpire are actually NotSoDifferent. In fact, [[spoiler:both are provided with war materials by [[TheManBehindTheMan the same American corporation]] who are actively preventing the war from ending because they get profit from it]].

* The Erebonian Empire and the Republic of Calvard from the ''VideoGame/TrailsSeries'' plays with this in a surprising realistic way. From an outsider's perspective, the expansionistic and militaristic Erebonian Empire seems quite evil, but in fact it has quite a complex history and political intrigue of mulitple factions, including noble families and political reformists, making it severely grayer than most other Empires in fiction and especially in a JRPG. The democratic Republic of Calvard, while yet to be directly explored, already showed signs of [[NotSoDifferent not being that much better than Erebonia]].

* Played with in ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'', the [[TheFederation NCR]] is generally [[BigGood good organization]] but wealthy individuals like [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Brahmin barons]] and hawkish military personnel now run the NCR Senate and Presidency, leading to excessive bureaucracy, which in turn has led to the government becoming slow and ineffecient. Plus same barons have created an underclass as ghouls and super mutants, once valued citizens, are now openly bigotted against (think the civil rights movement in reverse) and their territory isn't secure from rapid territorial expansions. Meanwhile, across the Colorado River, [[TheEmpire Caesar's Legion]] has set up a horrible society based on Roman beliefs mixed with extensive slavery, sexism, and bigotry; yet the leaders of the Legion are generally intelligent thoughtful people trying to make lives better ([[JediTruth from a certain point of view mind you]]) and have (somewhat) because they turned Arizona from a living hell-hole to an ok place to live. Raider tribes are gone, roads are even safer than in the NCR and (male) merchants make a killing because the Legion's forced conscription means that they do not have taxes in the traditional sense. To residents in the contest Mojave wasteland, the NCR is a good faction, but they'll "steal their wealth and freedom" if they take over and the Legion is just hated on principle.

* In ''Film/{{Gladiator}}'', the good guys are hoping to turn the Roman Empire back into a Republic by giving more power to the Senate. The bad guy wants to get rid of the Senate altogether. Historically speaking, no one planned to make Rome a republic again, especially since the last five emperors had been both good and competent guys, and the Republic was two centuries dead at that point (to say nothing of the fact that Romans didn't really make such a distinction between the Republic and the Empire, as the transition into true monarchy had been more gradual than is now commonly understood) - then there's the fact that it was the People's Assemblies which held a democratic function in the Republic, as the Senate was an unelected body of the nobility. In real life the main villain enjoyed a 15-year rule (plus a few years ''co-ruling with his father'') and was rather well-liked, though historians mark his reign as the start of Rome's decline, but that is considered DatedHistory with the decline having being caused by serious political and constituitonal errors by its final emperors, not the final emperor of the third out of eight dynasties of the principate.

* Played with in ''Series/BabylonFive'' with the Centauri Republic. It's called a ''republic'', and its main representative is Londo, [[BeneathTheMask a harmless, funny old drunk dreaming of distant glories]] - plus, they gave the humans hyperdrive technology! What a nice bunch. However, as the series progresses, it becomes apparent that the Centauri "Republic" is actually a technologically advanced absolute monarchy at the whim of a DeadlyDecadentCourt, which given half the chance begins rapidly expanding again and soon embroils the galaxy in a bloody conflict.

* ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' subverts this. Neither the kingdom of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear nor the empire of Malkuth is evil (the party members consist of people from both, including the princess of Kimlasca, the son of a duke from the same country, and a colonel in Malkuth's military). But they still go to war with each other because of a prophecy from the world's religion... However, [[spoiler:it turns out that the founder of said religion, and the [[LowestCosmicDenominator "aggregate sentience"]] being worshipped in it, both want humanity to break ''away'' from this prophecy since it will eventually lead to the world's destruction.]]

** The two Commonwealth races with democratic governments (Argon Federation and Boron Kingdom[[note]]it's a constitutional monarchy comparable to Great Britain[[/note]]) are the good guys, and the two with absolutist governments (Split Dynasty and Paranid Empire) are the bad guys. But morality in the series is kind of gray, and the Commonwealth races will happily work together to deal with threats like the [[AIIsACrapshoot Xenon]] and [[HordeOfAlienLocusts Kha'ak]].

* Averted in ''Literature/DecadesOfDarkness'': New England becomes a quasi-fascist dictature [[spoiler:for a while]], the *USA conquers and enslaves the western hemisphere, while the British, German and Russian empires are all comparatively nice. Played relatively straight in Brazil, where the monarchy is pro-*USA and pro-slavery and the republic is somewhat better.

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 princess, occasionally a [[TheHighQueen queen]]) 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 EvilOverlord, a [[TheEmperor supreme king or emperor]] ([[TheUnfairSex 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.

This trope often gets applied retroactively to times and places that precede UsefulNotes/TheEnlightenment. It can go as far back as UsefulNotes/TheRomanRepublic and its wars against various monarchies or the Greek city-states fighting the Persian Empire. These city-states were decidedly non-democratic by modern standards but they were held up as (admittedly flawed) models by the American Founding Fathers, the English Parliamentarians, the French Revolutionaries and, earlier, Creator/NiccoloMachiavelli. Remember the old line about [[WrittenByTheWinners winners writing history]].

* In ''Film/{{Gladiator}}'', the good guys are hoping to turn the Roman Empire back into a Republic by giving more power to the Senate. The bad guy wants to get rid of the Senate altogether. Historically speaking, no one planned to make Rome a republic again, especially since the last five emperors had been both good and competent guys, and the Republic was two centuries dead at that point (to say nothing of the fact that Romans didn't really make such a distinction between the Republic and the Empire, as the transition into true monarchy had been more gradual than is now commonly understood) - then there's the fact that it was the People's Assemblies which held a democratic function in the Republic, as the Senate was an unelected body of the nobility. In real life the main villain enjoyed a 15-year rule (plus a few years ''co-ruling with his father'') and was rather well-liked, though historians mark his reign as the start of Rome's decline.

* Partly subverted in ''Anime/LegendOfGalacticHeroes'', as the Galactic Empire and Free Planets Alliance are both initially corrupt. After Reinhard von Lohengramm takes charge, it's the autocratic empire that's reforming, and the Free Planets Alliance that is increasingly repressive.
** The biggest irony is that despite being less populated and smaller than the Empire, the Alliance has fought it to a standstill for 150 years, and even with its corrupt elite, its GDP by capita was nearly twice as big as the Empire. Reinhart himself admits that [[spoiler:if the Alliance's idealists had not been blocked by a glass ceiling, he would not have been able to beat them]]. It's actually the whole reason of Yang's loyalty toward the Alliance: he claims repeatedly that the worst democracy is still better that the best dictatorship.

* The ''Star of the Guardians'' series by Margaret Weis inverts this, with the justification that its royal family are genetically engineered to be good rulers (with PsychicPowers as well), and the republicans are WellIntentionedExtremist [[UnwittingPawn Unwitting Pawns]], whose "democracy" is corrupt due to elections being invariably won by whoever spent the most on advertising (but the worst thing about them is the UnwittingPawn thing).
** This sort of falls apart since it's established early on that the last "good ruler" was a weak man who couldn't make a decision to save his life, while President Robes doesn't seem to spend much time caring about personal power. Not to mention these supposed Epitomes of humanity seem to break their vows of chastity with frightening regularity, only to produce unwanted bastards that invariably plot to kill them.

** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'' has the Adrestrian Empire, although it is soon to be headed by Edelgard, who is a good figure willing to right the wrongs its dark past has caused. The students hailing from the Empire are all good-natured people as well. [[spoiler:Cue her pretty much following the trope by murdering her uncle-in-power to ascend the throne by default and springing a surprise war on the Church of Seiros and all of Fodlan itself, seeing the church is corrupt in her eyes and her nation should be the one to rule everything]].

* [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] and played with in ''{{Webcomic/Erfworld}},'' where the good ''Prince'' Ansom tries to overthrow the evil Stanley, a warlord who hates the very concept of aristocracy. It's a bit of GreyAndGrayMorality, though---Ansom's arrogance about rank isn't presented as ''right,'' but he ''is'' presented as willing to take the added responsibilities of leadership along with the perks, while Stanley basically ''wants'' to be a king but can't claim the title because he is not, in fact, royal. On the other hand, Stanley actually worked his way up to his position, starting out as a lowly line soldier, and it's implied that this fact is one of the reasons why Ansom dislikes him so much.

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]], occasionally a [[TheHighQueen queen]]) 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.

* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn'' 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.

** Also worth mentioning: the New Republic was really a military junta for a couple years after Endor. Then they took Coruscant in ''[[ComicBook/XWingSeries Wedge's Gamble]]'' and started setting their democracy up.

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]], occasionally a [[TheHighQueen queen]]) 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 EvilOverlord, a [[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.

* An odd counterexample is ''Film/ThreeHundred'', in which the protagonists ''are'' a constitutional monarchy, but the Senate are shown as corrupt and constraining on the heroic king, who [[DesignatedHero kills unarmed messengers when he gets angry]]. Women are granted some respect--in the film the Queen, at least, is not only allowed but encouraged to debate with men--because "Only Spartan women give birth to real men," which is a paraphrase of a real Spartan quote. By contrast, [[TheEmpire The Persian Empire]] is a multiracial, decadent tyranny.
** Though this is a case of an {{unreliable narrator}} speaking to a group of soldiers before battle. Belittling the enemy as a bunch of wishy-washy pansies, praising your violent and decisive king, and mocking politicians is a good way to rile them up. Why would the narrator speak of anything positive regarding the Persians?