History Main / InternalReformist

* [[UsefulNotes/ToGetRichIsGlorious Deng Xiaoping]] did this with China's economic system after Mao's death. While the CCP maintained control of China's political power and would brook no resistance in that area, as demonstrated by the PLA's crushing of the student protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989, Deng's economic reforms away from Mao's command economy ideas was super-effective in jump-starting China's economic growth.

-->''"I'm using War as a Business to get Elected, so I can ''[[StartXToStopX End]]'' War as a Business."''

** Season 1 has Suzaku, who works for the TheEmpire but refuses to do things like shoot his friend who [[HeKnowsTooMuch saw too much]]. In the beginning, he doesn't really have a workable plan for how he is going to reform TheEmpire from the inside aside from "keep getting promoted until he reaches a position where he can make changes". He eventually stumbles into a relationship with a member of the royal family that shares his ideals, giving him a real chance to make the changes he wants. Unfortunately, following [[spoiler:Euphemia's Geass-induced massacre]] and Zero [[spoiler:being forced to kill Euphemia]], he eventually gives up on his hopes of reforming the general system and simply wants to rise high enough in Britannian ranks to eventually be given control of Japan for most of season 2.

* ''Manga/OnePiece'': Saint Donquixote Mjosgard of the World Nobles [[TookALevelInKindness became a more humane character]] after spending some time with Queen Otohime of Fishman Island, years later expressing to her family his intention to assist them to repay her kindness by helping Fishmen and Merfolk integrate with the humans. [[spoiler:Sadly, the [[AristocratsAreEvil World Nobles]] do not take kindly to such silly notions as "equality", and eventually Mjosgard is executed by the [[InternalDeathSquad Holy Knights]] for preventing Saint Charlos from enslaving princess Shirahoshi and allowing pirates to attack him in order to defend her.]]

* The members of the Six Houses of Kyoto of ''Anime/CodeGeass'' secretly fund resistance groups.
** Season 1 also has Suzaku, who works for the TheEmpire but refuses to do things like shoot his friend who [[HeKnowsTooMuch saw too much]]. In the beginning, he doesn't really have a workable plan for how he is going to reform TheEmpire from the inside aside from "keep getting promoted until he reaches a position where he can make changes". He eventually stumbles into a relationship with a member of the royal family that shares his ideals, giving him a real chance to make the changes he wants.
*** Unfortunately, following [[spoiler:Euphemia's Geass-induced massacre]] and Zero [[spoiler:being forced to kill Euphemia]], he eventually gives up on his hopes of reforming the general system and simply wants to rise high enough in Britannian ranks to eventually be given control of Japan for most of season 2.

* From ''Manga/{{Shitsurakuen}}'', Himoto Sora

* America Beeny in ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'' was sent to the Academy of Justice by the wishes of her dead father at the conclusion of the second America series. By the time of her final assessment, she has become this.
-->'''America Beeny:''' And I believe, I truly believe, that one good Judge is worth a thousand protest marches.

* ''Fanfic/TheSagaOfTanyaTheFirebender'' has this as the motivation for the titular Tanya joining the Fire Nation in order to swiftly ascend the military ranks and win the Hundred-Year War in the favor of the Fire Nation, and achieving a position of power at Wars' end that she'd be in the perfect position to ensure that corruption and despotism wouldn't plague the upper echelons of the government along with laying the groundwork to phase out military advancements being the only means for change to happen. This ends up causing characters like Jeong-Jeong to rub Tanya the wrong way; due to him being a Fire Nation Admiral that didn't try sticking with his homeland to make small changes instead of running off to become a Deserter.
* ''Fanfic/ASupeOfAMan'': [[spoiler:Clark wants to be this. He can't kill Homelander or the other evil Supes, so he plans to change how Supes behave in order to end the suffering and injustice that drove people like Hughie and Lois to The Boys]].
* Professor Juniper in ''Fanfic/DearDiary'' is trying to use her position as an insider in the League to reform its cruel practices towards Pokémon, like the starter breeding centers and lack of concern towards Pokémon who die in League-regulated battles.
* Creator/CoeurAlAran's ''Fanfic/DatingWhatDaddyHatesRWBY'': Weiss' desire to redeem her family name is her driving goal, as in ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' canon. It's deconstructed when Yang points out that Weiss' father is ''never'' going to allow that to happen. Unless he dies unexpectedly, he's going to be sitting on the board of directors for the next forty years, meaning he'll be able to leverage his influence and veto any sweeping changes Weiss wants to make. Not to mention that he's proven willing to threaten Weiss with disinheritance for the smallest of offenses, and he's only going to keep using that trick since Weiss capitulated. Yang recommends Weiss give up on the company and find some way to do good in the world on her own, such as setting up a charity or using her singing career.

* Jaune in ''Fanfic/ARabbitAmongWolves'' inadvertently finds himself in control of a White Fang branch after accidentally killing Adam Taurus. Having gained a reputation as a cold-blooded killer, Jaune seeks to reform the White Fang into a more moderate organization to prove to everyone he isn't evil.
** [[spoiler: Sun himself decides to join after seeing Jaune is sincere in his reform movements, if only so he can ensure Jaune doesn't go rogue]].

* ''Fanfic/EquestriaGirlsFriendshipSouls'': This is [[spoiler: [[WideEyedIdealist Twilight's]]]] plan for joining Quincy Military. She plans to rank up and influence it as a whole to become more peaceful, open to a truce with Soul Reapers, and treat (at least the more amicable) Arrancars humanly.

* The First Three Books of the '' ''Empire Series'' by Richard Weyand deals with Empress Illithya II, [[spoiler:and later her brother Trajan]] getting rid of the corruption within the Sintaran Empire.

* ''Literature/SixteenThirtyTwo'' . Grantville in general maintains its security by the type of {{Realpolitik}} that any small state of the time would have engaged in, and mainly desires breathing room to become an economic and technological powerhouse. The Committees of Correspondance are a more radical group and have a GoodCopBadCop relation with Grantville.

* In ''Literature/TheUnexploredSummonBloodSign'', Shigara couldn't stop the Miniature Garden project (which involved the kidnapping of thirteen children so they could be scientifically studied), so she joined it to ensure that the children had at least ''one'' ReasonableAuthorityFigure to comfort them. [[spoiler:This is one reason she chose to die covering a child's escape from the Garden; she may be stronger than Kyousuke]], but [[FlingALightIntoTheFuture the world needs his innocence more than her strength]].

* Renee from ''Series/AlloAllo'' has strong moments, although he is much less selfless than most.
* ''Series/Jericho2006'': After the flaws of the [=ASA=] become apparent, Gray still goes to serve in their Congress, hoping he can call attention to their more extreme methods and get people to rethink them. The series finale reveals that he's failed miserably, and he's quick to give up on the new government.
* In ''Series/Tyrant2014'', Bassam tries to be this to the government of Abuddin, attempting to steer his StupidEvil brother Jamal towards creating a democracy. While his efforts sometimes succeed, in the end, [[spoiler:Abuddin is even worse off than it was when he started]],
* Lyta Zod from ''Series/{{Krypton}}'' disagrees with the brutal oppression of the Rankless, and fought an [[DuelToTheDeath Honor Duel]] in order to make sure a mission would go on with minimal brutality. She also suggests bringing iron-clad proof of an alien presence to the Council; note that the very first scene of the show had someone be executed and their family stripped of all rank and privilege because they said there was an alien threat coming.
* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1985'': In "Red Snow", KGB Colonel Ilyanov has spent his entire adult life working within the Soviet system to try and save lives where he can. However, for every person that he saves from execution, two more are killed. Ilyanov eventually agrees to be [[VampireVannabe made a vampire]] so that he can create more and they can destroy the Soviet Union from the inside.

* In ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'', this was Flynn's motivation for joining the Imperial Knights. He's a strange blending of in style of reformist and icon [[spoiler:which ultimately settles as reformist when he gets pushed into the Commandant role due to the previous one turning out to be the BigBad]].
* In ''VideoGame/SuikodenTierkreis'', Erin is a woman who works in the corrupt Order of the One True Way, which shocks her father until she tells him and the main characters that she is actually working to bring it down from the inside.

* [[spoiler:Captain Gen]] in ''VideoGame/RPGShooterStarwish'', it isn't really clear which. Unfortunately, [[spoiler:he is killed before he can make any lasting changes]].
* Reeve Tuesti from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', starts out as the only member of MegaCorp Shinra's board who isn't a complete psychopath, but largely goes along with their wishes. As he pilots the robot Cait Sith, which becomes part of your party, he increasingly gets convinced of the righteousness of your cause and becomes TheMole, helping the party against the threats of both Sephiroth and Shinra.
** The fact that he (in his Cait Sith form) aids you in slaughtering your way through an army of corporate soldiers even before his HeelFaceTurn, seemingly without the rest of the company questioning his mode of action, just testifies to how reckless the ''other'' board members are.

* In ''VideoGame/TheSpectrumRetreat'', Cameron Worrall's logs mention that [[AmbiguousGender they]] eventually only stayed at Spectrum to try and get them to start behaving more ethically towards their customer base.
* In ''Videogame/Cyberpunk2077'', Yorinobu Arasaka went from being a rebellious biker boss opposing his father [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Saburo Arakasa]] in ''TabletopGame/{{Cyberpunk}}'' to a member of the Arasaka Corporation's board with the intent on reforming it from within. In the ending path where [[spoiler:V sides with Hanako Arasaka, it's revealed that his end goal was to eventually destroy Arasaka via killing the rest of the board and instigating a world war focused against the corporation itself]].

* ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob'' has implied that Princess Voluptua is trying to be this for the Nemesite Empire. The fact that she spent part of her youth [[FallenPrincess involuntarily having to live as a commoner]] affected her perception of things.

* In ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'', Colonel Mustang and his allies within the military who are trying to make him the Führer are an example of a. Naturally the only way to be an internal reformist within a dictatorship is to become the dictator.
* From ''Manga/TeamMedicalDragon'', Dr. Akira Katou is trying to reform the Japanese Medical System by getting on the board of directors of their hospital.

* The members of the Six Houses of Kyoto of ''Anime/CodeGeass'' secretly fund resistance groups.
** Season 1 also has Suzaku, who works for the TheEmpire but refuses to do things like shoot his friend who [[HeKnowsTooMuch saw too much]]. In the beginning, he doesn't really have a workable plan for how he is going to reform TheEmpire from the inside aside from "keep getting promoted until he reaches a position where he can make changes". He eventually stumbles into a relationship with a member of the royal family that shares his ideals, giving him a real chance to make the changes he wants.
*** Unfortunately, following [[spoiler:Euphemia's Geass-induced massacre]] and Zero [[spoiler:being forced to kill Euphemia]], he eventually gives up on his hopes of reforming the general system and simply wants to rise high enough in Britannian ranks to eventually be given control of Japan for most of season 2.
* The Demon Queen in ''Literature/{{Maoyu}}'' takes the identity of the Crimson Scholar, a minor human noblewoman, to introduce economic reforms in human society that will put in motion changes that allow her to stop the ongoing war with her people, the Demon Clans, with minimal bloodshed. Circumstances end up having her being raised to ''Saint'' status.
* Reinhard von Musel, later von Lohengramm in ''Literature/LegendOfTheGalacticHeroes'' serves TheEmpire's military ranks in order to reform the system and put an end to the ruling Goldenbaum Dynasty. [[spoiler:Not only does he succeed, but he goes on to become Emperor himself.]]
* In ''Manga/JujutsuKaisen'', that's the resolution Gojo has chosen to take, he loathes the way current Jujutsu society is run by the higher-ups who are seemly uncaring towards anything and anyone that suffer greatly with their decisions, all is good as long traditions and their hold on positions of power are kept; with that Gojo wants a new generation of people to reform their world along with him. Several characters have remarked that if Gojo wasn’t trying to be a reformist, instead a murderous revolutionary, he already would have completely overthrown the whole world as they know by now, [[spoiler:and his past failures reveal Gojo is also hoping that he isn’t the sole strongest person in the world because even with all that power he can’t guarantee the safety of every single person he cares about, he also wants a new generation to close the power gap in the new Jujutsu society he dreams of]].
* Aside from being inspired by a mobster that he saved the life of as a child, this is Giorno Giovanna's motivation for joining Passione in ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureGoldenWind''. Giorno has come to realize how much the streets of Italy have run corrupt with gangsters [[DrugsAreBad peddling drugs to children]] (to say nothing about what happened to [[spoiler:Bucciarati's father]]), and so it has become Giorno's Golden Dream to become a "Gang-Star", overthrow the boss of Passione, and dismantle its narcotics division. Giorno proves successful, and the dismantling of the narcotics division is carried out in (the dubiously canon) ''Literature/PurpleHazeFeedback'' by Pannacotta Fugo as a test to prove his loyalty to Giorno.

* ''Fanfic/StarWarsVsWarhammer40K'': The Skywatch are a Space Marine Chapter which has earned itself a reputation for reforming the power structure of every planet that they protect or have to put an insurrection down on, in order to ensure that the corruption, incompetency, or unnecessary cruelty that had previously led to the Chapter being summoned there does not lead to further catastrophe.

* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reformation The Protestant Reformation]]:

* In ''Literature/TheUnexploredSummonBloodSign'', Shigara couldn't stop the Miniature Garden project (which involved the kidnapping of thirteen children so they could be scientifically studied), so she joined it to ensure that the children had at least ''one'' ReasonableAuthorityFigure to comfort them. [[spoiler:This is one reason she chose to die covering a child's escape from the Garden; she may be stronger than Kyousuke]], but [[FlingALightIntoTheFuture the world needs his innocence more than her strength.]]

* The Demon Queen in ''LightNovel/{{Maoyu}}'' takes the identity of the Crimson Scholar, a minor human noblewoman, to introduce economical reforms in human society that will put in motion changes that allow her to stop the ongoing war with her people, the Demon Clans, with minimal bloodshed. Circumstances end up having her being raised to ''Saint'' status.

[[folder:Fanfiction]]

* ''[[Fanfic/StarWarsVsWarhammer40K Star Wars vs. Warhammer 40K]]'': The Skywatch are a Space Marine Chapter which has earned itself a reputation for reforming the power structure of every planet that they protect or have to put an insurrection down on, in order to ensure that the corruption, incompetency, or unnecessary cruelty that had previously led to the Chapter being summoned there does not lead to further catastrophe.

* The Vorkosigans and their circle of friends in Literature/VorkosiganSaga.

%% * In ''Literature/{{Coda}}'', this is how Anthem is able to successfully rebel.

* In ''LightNovel/TheUnexploredSummonBloodSign'', Shigara couldn't stop the Miniature Garden project (which involved the kidnapping of thirteen children so they could be scientifically studied), so she joined it to ensure that the children had at least ''one'' ReasonableAuthorityFigure to comfort them. [[spoiler:This is one reason she chose to die covering a child's escape from the Garden; she may be stronger than Kyousuke]], but [[FlingALightIntoTheFuture the world needs his innocence more than her strength]].

-->'''Phil''': You talk as if I wasn't there with you in Birmingham facing dogs and fire hoses. This is me, Olfame, the same Olfame that was with you the night Harlem went up in flames. But now I have a family, and I choose not to fight in the streets. I have an office to fight from, and I have fought and won cases for fair housing, affirmative action, healthcare, and I am not ashamed to write a big fat check for something I believe in and that doesn't make me any less committed than you, so don't you dare look down your damn nose at me, Adabola.

* Aside from being inspired by a mobster that he saved the life of as a child, this is Giorno Giovanna's motivation for joining Passione in ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureGoldenWind''. Giorno has come to realize how much the streets of Italy have run corrupt with gangsters [[DrugsAreBad peddling drugs to children]] (to say nothing about what happened to [[spoiler:Bucciarati's father]]), and so it has become Giorno's Golden Dream to become a "Gang-Star", overthrow the boss of Passione, and dismantle its narcotics division. Giorno proves successful, and the dismantling of the narcotics division is carried out in (the dubiously canon) ''LightNovel/PurpleHazeFeedback'' by Pannacotta Fugo as a test to prove his loyalty to Giorno.

Compare VelvetRevolution, RageWithinTheMachine, OutsideManInsideMan, and TheMole. Contrast TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized. A subtrope of MyCountryRightOrWrong, in this case, a loyalist who intends to make things right. Invoked exsmples that manage to pull it off by getting to the top can be a case of GoodRunningEvil.

Compare VelvetRevolution, RageWithinTheMachine, OutsideManInsideMan, and TheMole. Contrast TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized. A subtrope of MyCountryRightOrWrong, in this case, a loyalist who intends to make things right. Invoked exsmples that manage to pull it off by getting to the top csn be a case of GoodRunningEvil.

Compare VelvetRevolution, RageWithinTheMachine, OutsideManInsideMan, and TheMole. Contrast TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized. A subtrope of MyCountryRightOrWrong, in this case, a loyalist who intends to make things right.

* [[UsefulNotes/ToGetRichIsGlorious Deng Xiaoping]] did this with China’s economic system, after Mao’s death. [[MemeticMutation It was super-effective.]]

* ''Fanfic/ASupeOfAMan'': [[spoiler: Clark wants to be this. He can't kill Homelander or the other bad Supes, so he plans to change how Supes behave in order to end the suffering and injustice that drove people like Hughie and Lois to the Boys]].

* [[UsefulNotes/ToGetRichIsGlorious Deng Xiaoping]] did this with China’s economic system. [[MemeticMutation It was super-effective.]]

** In ''Literature/{{Jingo}}'', Vimes briefly wonders if he should have been an Internal Reformist to Rust's regime, rather than throwing down his badge and storming out, before thinking "No. That never worked." [[spoiler:Indeed, Vimes manages to get a peek into an AlternateUniverse where he ''did'' decide to play internal reformist, and it ''[[KillEmAll really]]'' would have led to absolute disaster.]]