History TheMagocracy / Literature

* There [[Literature/IronCouncil are passing references]] to a nation called "The Witchocracy" in Creator/ChinaMieville's ''[[Literature/BasLagCycle Bas-Lag]]'' series, but it hasn't been explored in any great detail.
** [[Literature/TheScar Another nation, High Cromlech]], is a ''[[TheNecrocracy 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 [[TheUndead undead]] minions alive.

** The wizards of Unseen University set up a magical dictatorship in ''Literature/{{Sourcery}}''. The results are not pretty. No one seems surprised, as any point in history where wizards have been in power has not ended well. In fact, it very nearly ends History. The only reason it seems to not happen anymore is a social paradigm shift -- brought about by the current Archchancellor being unkillable, and because Lord Vetinari is clear that Wizards will never be in a position of power ever again -- rather than by recent wizards being any nicer (although they seem to have collectively realized that harmless academic squabbling and enjoying huge dinners are far more pleasant and relaxing ways to spend their time than the old days of [[KlingonPromotion murdering each other]] for power and prestige).

** The White Council is composed of the most powerful one percent of magic users and nominally rules the magical human community. In reality, however, it mostly sticks to enforcing the Seven Laws of Magic on its fellow practitioners -- you break one and, unless a Council Member agrees to take you on as an apprentice and the Senior Council agrees to it, you'll be tried, found guilty and executed in the space of an hour. [[GoodIsNotNice And these are the good guys.]] -- and, ironically, being a large and threatening presence to deter the other supernatural powers from trying to turn the world into this. Despite this, there's still a lot of politicking and a complex interplay between factions. A single Warden, a member of the combat arm/police force of the Council, is posted in each major city around the world, their remit being to help out local, weaker practitioners, make sure they behave and stamp on any monsters that get ideas. Due to their comparative power and InspectorJavert tendencies, the Wardens tend to be seen as something between an avenging angel and the grim reaper by your average practitioner. That and the fact that one of the ''weakest'' members of the Senior Council once dropped a satellite on someone's house, no one other than one of the other pre-eminent powers, like the Red Court of Vampires, wants to piss them off.
** The Red Court approximate this, with far more overt political influence in their heartlands of Central and South America (when [[spoiler:Dresden obliterates them in the 12th book]], about a dozen governments collapse overnight), while the White Court (who pretty much live for scheming and intrigue, to the point where it's a fundamental part of their culture) has the power to get a US Navy helicopter sent into a foreign country for an extraction at a moment's notice.
*** It should be noted, however, that the White Council's Laws of Magic are meant above all to restrict power, so that no wizard can become too powerful. It's explained that should they try to achieve power, they either have to do it the {{Muggle}} way or break one of the Laws. If they tried to meddle in {{Muggle}} politics, it would inevitably lead to civil war and the collapse of the Council. Therefore, they must remain neutral, at least as a body, when it comes to things like Muggle wars and politics.

* In Scott Lynch's short story ''[[https://uncannymagazine.com/article/a-year-and-a-day-in-old-theradane/ A Year and a Day in Old Theradane]]'', the eponymous city-state is ruled by wizards in the [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Parliament of Strife]]. They spend most of their time getting into magical battles with each other which make life really hard for the citizens. One character with a small amount of magical talent mentions that members of the Parliament have youth spells that stop them from aging which allows them to take centuries to perfect their craft which in turn makes them powerful enough to be in Parliament.
* Creator/PatriciaCWrede's books ''Literature/MairelonTheMagician'' and ''Magician's Ward'' are set in a world where magic does exist, and Wizards are so influential that the government and society bow to them. Specifically, British Parliament had to move out of its building because the Wizards already worked in it, and Wizards are automatically considered social equals of any level in society. It's never implied that the King of Britain is a wizard, but the Russian royalty certainly is.
* ''Franchise/HarryPotter'':
** There are a number of magical governments around the world, but The Ministry of Magic gets the most attention since it maintains control in the U.K., though it only rules over other magic-users. Muggles are explicitly outside their jurisdiction, and the Minister of Magic consults with the U.K.'s Prime Minister on matters which affect both -- [[CantArgueWithElves albeit in an infuriatingly high-handed fashion]].
** However, [[spoiler:Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindewald]] once wanted [[SuperSupremacist the other kind of Magocracy]]: wizards ruling over {{Muggles}}. So does Voldemort, hence the conflict in the series.
* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'':
** The wizards of Unseen University set up a magical dictatorship in ''Literature/{{Sourcery}}''. The results are not pretty. No one seems surprised, as any point in history where wizards have been in power has not ended well. In fact, it very nearly ends History. The only reason it seems to not happen anymore is a social paradigm shift -- brought about by the current Archchancellor being unkillable, and because Lord Vetinari is clear that Wizards will never be in a position of power ever again -- rather than by recent wizards being any nicer (although they seem to have collectively realized that harmless academic squabbling and enjoying huge dinners are far more pleasant and relaxing ways to spend their time than the old days of [[KlingonPromotion murdering each other]] for power and prestige).
** Granny Weatherwax would be absolutely horrified by any suggestion that Lancre is a Magocracy since she knows better than anyone that magic isn't for ruling. Lancre is definitely ruled by King Verence II. And the witches will let him know if he's doing it wrong. Okay, King Verence is married to Queen Magrat, who is a Witch and who has been known to take control in a real emergency. But that sort of thing is ''understood''.
** Similarly, the witches themselves are no Magocracy because they don't have leaders. Among the leaders that they don't have, Granny Weatherwax is the most respected. It is even said once that the witches have no leader because she wouldn't allow it.
* ''Literature/ImpracticalMagic'': Istima, the Six Court Academy, is both a wildly powerful MagicSchool and a city-state unto itself. Though all the leaders are mages, and powerful, the trope is subverted. At some point, wizards become so powerful that having a job, needing to afford food, and the approval of regular mortals means nothing to them. As such they stop teaching and abandon their important influential jobs to take the best parts of the BigLabyrinthineBuilding and slowly fade into history as they do incomprehensible things. No one is sure if they died, become gods, teleported away, are on multi-millennia astral projection trips, or if there are higher levels of the school. They just know that it's dangerous, booby-trapped, and anytime orders come down from a high tower that it must be obeyed.
* In ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'', the White Council is composed of the most powerful one percent of magic users and nominally rules the magical human community. In reality, however, it mostly sticks to enforcing the Seven Laws of Magic on its fellow practitioners -- you break one and, unless a Council Member agrees to take you on as an apprentice and the Senior Council agrees to it, you'll be tried, found guilty and executed in the space of an hour. [[GoodIsNotNice And these are the good guys.]] -- and, ironically, being a large and threatening presence to deter the other supernatural powers from trying to turn the world into this. Despite this, there's still a lot of politicking and a complex interplay between factions. A single Warden, a member of the combat arm/police force of the Council, is posted in each major city around the world, their remit being to help out local, weaker practitioners, make sure they behave and stamp on any monsters that get ideas. Due to their comparative power and InspectorJavert tendencies, the Wardens tend to be seen as something between an avenging angel and the grim reaper by your average practitioner. That and the fact that one of the ''weakest'' members of the Senior Council once dropped a satellite on someone's house, no one other than one of the other pre-eminent powers, like the Red Court of Vampires, wants to piss them off.
** The Red Court approximate this, with far more overt political influence in their heartlands of Central and South America (when [[spoiler:Dresden obliterates them in the 12th book]], about a dozen governments collapse overnight), while the White Court (who pretty much live for scheming and intrigue, to the point where it's a fundamental part of their culture) has the power to get a US Navy helicopter sent into a foreign country for an extraction at a moment's notice.
*** It should be noted, however, that the White Council's Laws of Magic are meant above all to restrict power, so that no wizard can become too powerful. It's explained that should they try to achieve power, they either have to do it the {{Muggle}} way or break one of the Laws. If they tried to meddle in {{Muggle}} politics, it would inevitably lead to civil war and the collapse of the Council. Therefore, they must remain neutral, at least as a body, when it comes to things like Muggle wars and politics.
* In the ''Literature/CodexAlera'', the other 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.
** From the same series, the Canim Ritualists ''want'' to turn their society into this, but are having ''really bad luck'' at it so far [[spoiler:largely as a result of getting stabbed in the back by the Vord]].

* A pair of novels by Creator/LawrenceWattEvans, ''The Cyborg and the Sorcerers'' and ''The Wizard and the War Machine'', are set on an AfterTheEnd planet that has many mages who rule all their countries. Yet each nation's government is different; some good, some bad, some outright incompetent.
* Another Watt-Evans book, ''A Young Man Without Magic'', uses this trope in a fantasy setting. Children found to have magical talent are automatically elevated to the nobility, and it's a capital crime for anyone else to practice magic. The non-magician emperor is more or less a figurehead. The government is mostly functional but corrupt; sorcerers have so much power that they can get away with openly using spells powered by human sacrifice.
* 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 ''Literature/GentlemanBastard'' series are theorized by some characters to actually run the world in secret. [[WordOfGod 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.
** While not ruling the world, they do rule the city of Karthain. There is an official muggle power, and even elections every five years... which the mages influence and use as a playing field to settle political disputes by proxy since their own regulations strictly forbid them from directly antagonizing one another. That the Muggle ruler is a figurehead and that the Bondsmagi are the true power in Karthain isn't exactly common knowledge, but it isn't a big secret either.
* In Brandon Sanderson's ''Franchise/{{Mistborn}}'' series, the so-called Final Empire was founded as a magocracy, with the Lord Ruler bestowing allomantic powers on his most trusted servants, and these becoming the highest nobility of the new society. After a thousand years, the titular Mistborn sorcerers are spread fairly thin, with most nobles having weaker Misting powers or none at all. However, illegal interbreeding between classes has resulted in the power cropping up among the slave race here and there.

* The ''Literature/LandOfOz'' is this. It's a benevolent dictatorship ruled over by Glinda the Good and Princess Ozma, a fairy. They and the Wizard of Oz are the only ones allowed to do magic in the sequels (to prevent wicked witches from ever rising again), but despite this the plot of pretty much every book starts with someone breaking this law.
* ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'':
** Tar Valon is 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 there is a largely unseen land called Shara, which is only mentioned in passing. However, in ''The World of Robert Jordan's the Wheel of Time'', he mentions that it is secretly a Magocracy with puppet Muggle rulers. In seven-year cycles, each is killed then replaced by another monarch (for unknown reasons).
** Meanwhile, Seanchan on the other side of the world is a complete inversion, 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 that when they first got there that half of the world was ruled by magic-users who fought among themselves for power. And perhaps a DoubleSubversion, since not only the Empire is explicitly founded on the power of chained magic-users that are always at the rulers' disposal, but their handlers also in fact, are all latent magic users. They just choose to ignore this or don't understand the fact.
* The Empire of Ottovar in Creator/DavidWeber's ''[[Literature/TheWarGods 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...
* Most countries in ''Literature/DoctrineOfLabyrinths'' 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.
* Inverted in ''Literature/{{Warbreaker}}''--while most people in power in Hallandren are also skilled Awakeners, this is because they have used their wealth to buy the [[{{Mana}} 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 [[PhysicalGod the Court of Gods]], who are mostly figureheads, and their priests (though said priests are often powerful Awakeners themselves).
* The elves in the ''Literature/{{Tinker}}'' Series by Creator/WenSpencer have a strict caste system. At the top are the Doma, who, due to a genetic quirk, are capable of using magic from a distance. [[spoiler:''Violently'' subverted in the fact that the Sekasha, the Doma's personal guards and most elite warrior caste, have the right and duty to kill anyone, especially any Doma, who acts contrary to the good of the society/in a dishonorable fashion. They don't study magic beyond what they need to make it work.]]
* Katherine Kurtz's ''Literature/{{Deryni}}'' series features a number of Deryni royal families -- in fact, most royal families seem to have some Deryni blood. The Kingdom of Torenth is apparently a magocracy and the Muggle population doesn't seem to have a problem with it. On the other hand, the Kingdom of Gwynedd is a ''former'' magocracy and the Muggles had a ''huge'' problem with it.
* Marion Zimmer Bradley's ''Literature/{{Darkover}}'' may also qualify as a magocracy seeing as it's ruled by a caste of psi-gifted aristocrats who practice a sort of {{Magitek}} in Towers.

* ''Literature/TheObsidianTrilogy'': Armethalieh has nobles, merchants, and commoners, but unless you are a Mage, you're pretty much nothing. The Mages hold all of the high governmental positions, and most of the low ones, too.
* Juliet [=McKenna=]'s ''Einarinn'' series features the city of Hadrumal, which is inhabited only by wizards. It is a kind of magic Athenian democracy, with a vote on an important issue decided not by the number of votes, but by the total magic power of those voting on each side.
* In ''Literature/TheSeventhTower'', the Chosen are a society of mages dominated by the most powerful magic users and those who have the best [[BondCreatures Spiritshadows]] [[spoiler:though it turns out they're actually being ruled behind the scenes by Sharrakor, the most powerful Spiritshadow, who is ''quite'' free-willed]]. Those who don't have magic are called Underfolk and are a servant caste little better than slaves. From the same books, the [[ProudWarriorRace Icecarls]] don't have a central government ''per se'', but the closest thing to it would be the Crones, who are somewhere between priestesses, shamans, and mages.
* In ''Literature/TheRiftwarCycle'', the Tsurani Great Ones were above the law, literally able to give any order to just about anyone, with the only people able to override them being the Emperor or a larger group of Great Ones countermanding the previous order. Despite this, they did not actually run the government, though many dabbled in politics. Their status as being above the law ended when Mara of the Acoma demanded that they either run the government themselves (after providing evidence to the entire Empire that they ''could'' be outmaneuvered) or stop interfering with the people who were. They ultimately declined to turn the Empire into a Magocracy because they had a hard enough time just governing themselves.

* New Aztectlan, "Hex City", in Gemma Files's ''Literature/TheHexslingerSeries'': the town is founded by a reincarnated Mayan goddess as a place where magicians, or "hexes", can actually live together and practice magic openly without wanting to vampirize each others' power to the point of death (as is true for magicians everywhere else in the world, in the series). Unfortunately, this freedom and opportunity come at the price of [[spoiler:swearing an oath of fealty to the goddess which allows her to kill you or drain you dry at her whim, in addition to making you subject to intermittent human sacrifice]]. There are also a fair number of non-magical "smallfolk" in the city as well, and their lot is rather less pleasant.
* A.L. Phillips's Literature/TheQuestOfTheUnaligned is a partial example. While the nobles are nobles because of their magic, and the unaligned form the royal house because they have even more magic, peasants who happen to be born with magic are still looked down on by the nobles. On the other hand, peasant mages are still greatly respected by other peasants, to the degree that a mage is considered more important than the village headman.
* In ''Literature/TheMagicians'' by Lev Grossman, a Magician's Court that punishes magical criminals is mentioned a few times.
* In ''Literature/SkulduggeryPleasant'' each country has a Sanctuary. A magical government that rules sorcerers. They each have a council of elders that's led by a Grand Mage. The Irish Sanctuary has an ElaborateUndergroundBase hidden beneath a waxwork museum in Dublin.
* While not technically wizards, the Psy Lords of Takis are exactly that in Literature/WildCards: a group of people ruling a world through their mastery of supernatural powers.
* In Literature/TheBrokenCrescent the Monarch is the official ruler of the Kingdom of Man, but the College of Man is a law unto themselves, who control access to almost all resources through their magic and can overrule the Monarch at will.
* The Empire of Mel'in in ''Literature/DiamondSwordWoodenSword'' is formally an imperial monarchy, but in fact, the Emperor is a puppet of the magical Orders of the Rainbow who actually call the shots.
* ''Literature/TheElricSaga'': While Melnibone is nominally ruled by the Emperor, in practice it can be seen as this, especially after Elric takes a powder, as the various Dragon Lords vie amongst each other for power and their own sadistic entertainment. A more literal example would be Pan Tang (also called the Sorcerer's Isle), which appears to be ruled by a council of wizards.
* In Creator/SergeyLukyanenko and Creator/NickPerumov's ''Literature/WrongTimeForDragons'', a large chunk of the living half of the Middle World is controlled by the four [[ElementalNation Elemental Clans]]. Most of the people living in the Clan lands are {{Muggles}}, who are ruled by mages. The rule is quite benevolent, and the mages use their ElementalPowers to ensure prosperity for their territories (e.g. the Water mages ensure that drought never strikes their farmlands, while the Earth mages ensure that their lands stay fertile and their mines productive). Each Clan is led by a council of first-rank mages, presided over by the clan leader, usually the most experienced and powerful of all. There was a more tyrannical version in this world's past, back when the [[OurDragonsAreDifferent Winged Masters]] ruled over all.
* In the ''Literature/TowersTrilogy'', magical energy functions as both currency and power. Those who produce the most magic are the most wealthy and powerful citizens of their home Towers — with the exception of the Radiants, who are imprisoned and used as [[LivingBattery living batteries]].
* Piers Anthony's ''Literature/{{Xanth}}'' is a culture where every single person has one unique magical ability. The criteria for serving as King [[spoiler:(or Queen)]] of Xanth include having a "Magician-caliber" ability.
* ''Literature/TheElminsterSeries'': Elminister's native city-state Athalantar becomes one after his uncle hires a number of mages to secure the throne, who then take over with him becoming a puppet monarch. Elminster is motivated to overthrow the "magelords" after one of them [[DoomedHometown destroys his hometown]] to remove his self-exiled father as a potential threat to the throne.

* ''Literature/SwordOfTruth'':
** Aidandril is a city ruled by the Mother Confessor, a woman whose touch can make anyone fall so in love with them they'll do whatever they desire.
** D'Hara has been ruled by the House of Rahl for centuries, with all of them being powerful wizards. It's said the Rahls will ''only'' accept an heir with the gift, something insured by their magic (though it has the side effect of also creating the Pristinely Ungifted, people who not only can't do it but are ''immune'' to most magic).
** The Imperial Order is run by two magic users, Emperor Jagang and Brother Narev, despite their professed [[{{Hypocrite}} hatred for magic and those with it]].
* The Hominum Empire in ''Literature/TheSummonerTrilogy'' is this in all but name; in its foundation, battlemages were the leaders of the armies and were rewarded for their service by being granted nobility and various court positions. Nowadays all royalty and nobility in the empire have a magical bloodline, which [[RoyalInbreeding they make strict efforts to keep among their families so as to not lose their positions over the commoners]], and the only way to advance up the social ladder is by having magical talent.
* ''Literature/TheSilerianTrilogy'': The water lords essentially rule Sileria in part due to their control over its water supplies. Even the official rulers have to give them tribute or they'll cut it off. Once the Valdani leave, their goal is absolute rule of the island.
* The Viiminian Empire in ''Literature/WisePhuul'' is ruled by a council of elite Necromancers.
* ''Literature/TheCrimsonShadow'': Not only King Greensparrow but all his dukes are evil wizards.

* The ''alfar'' of ''Literature/TheLaundryFiles'' are an extremely evil version, who are incapable of conceptualizing a society that ''isn't'' ruled by a single sorcerer of indomitable power, with literally everybody else either being a tamed, subordinate mage or a slave. Conquest is performed by slaying a sorcerer and adding the ''geas'' network controlling their civilization to your own. This would've posed a real problem for their [[SpaceElves Earth invasion plan]], which hinged on our civilization working the exact same way, if only their invasion had an actual chance of succeeding in the first place.
* Vaskandar from Melissa Caruso's ''Swords and Fire'' trilogy is ruled by its "Witch Lords," a loose alliance of seventeen powerful mages who each wield absolute authority over their individual fiefdoms (the Conclave, the assembly of all the Witch Lords, deals with matters affecting Vaskandar as a whole, but a Witch Lord's right to control the internal workings of their domain as they see fit is considered sacrosanct). The country also has a FantasticCasteSystem, with non-Witch Lord mages who are powerful enough to manifest a [[MarkOfTheSupernatural mage mark]] being treated as high nobility, non-marked mages still receiving some respect, and {{muggles}} being regarded in most domains as slightly better than dirt. [[spoiler:It's eventually revealed that a Witch Lord's power derives from their magical bond with their territory, which is what makes them nearly immortal and so much stronger than other mages. This is also why Vaskandar is so aggressively expansionist -- more land gives the Witch Lords the chance to expand their powers, and/or allows for the raising of new Witch Lords over conquered territory]].

* The Whipper Kingdom in ''Literature/TrashOfTheCountsFamily'' was one of these. Mages were the ruling class, and [[AntiMagic those who can't use magic]] were [[FantasticRacism heavily discriminated against]]. A civil war ends it.
* ''Literature/TheReluctantKing'': [[spoiler:Vorko]] and his compatriots had planned to establish one across the states of Novaria after he purges the wizards opposing him. Karadur, who had been his friend, is appalled and stops this. Supposedly, it would have been to spread magic for everyone's benefit. He would have been in charge of course and indicates he'll only ''really'' have people who he'd chosen to use magic.
* ''Literature/WizardOfYurt'': In the East, wizards also rule, unlike within the Western kingdoms.
* ''Literature/TheArtsOfDarkAndLight'':
** The [[SorcerousOverlord Witchkings]] effectively made their empire a state ruled by mages, since their magic was a racial trait, carried by the ruling overcaste. They also had lesser, baseline human wizards (who were not Witchkings proper, although sometimes mistaken for such by others) serving them as officers and officials.
** Downplayed with [[TheEmpire Savondir]]. Their empire is a hereditary monarchy (under a non-magical dynasty), but their magical corps (basically a StateSec, including a PraetorianGuard) is nonetheless extremely powerful in their society, much like the Party in a more modern totalitarian state.
* ''Literature/TheCourtshipOfPrincessLeia'': Dathomir is wholly ruled by different Witch clans using the Force (they believe that it's magic), with muggles (or men generally, as only female Witches exist) as their slaves or servants.
* ''Literature/BazilBroketail'': The Masters of Padmasa, five evil wizards, rule their empire and seek to conquer the entire world. Argonath nominally has muggle rulers, but the Cunfshon witches exert strong (often unofficial) influence (such as by assassinating monarchs and heirs who prove to be troublesome). They rule the Cunfshon Isles openly and officially too.

* ''Literature/GhostRoads'': The routewitches are ruled by a King or Queen who lives on the [[PlaceOfPower former highway called the Ocean Lady]], which is also a GeniusLoci and their goddess. They don't hold themselves apart from the rest of the world, but it's rare for anyone except ghosts and routewitches to visit the Queen's court. The monarch can't leave their court without giving up their immortality, and since routewitches draw power from distance traveled, all of them are compelled to pay tribute of some small amount of power to them.

* ''Literature/TheSteerswoman'': Downplayed. In the Inner Lands, wizards don't have any formal political power and mostly keep to themselves, but whenever one of them starts giving orders, people know better than to defy them. This ranges from forcing people to work for them for no pay up to conscripting entire armies to fight their periodic, inexplicable wars between each other. In exchange, they ''may'' provide services such as predicting the weather and keeping dangerous animals at bay, according to each wizard's whims. Rowan hears an Outskirter derisively call Inner Landers nothing more than wizards' goats (the Outskirters being a goat-herding culture without wizards), and finds she can't really deny the comparison.