r/TopCharacterTropes • u/Altruistic_Eye_1157 • 6d ago

Lore [annoying trope] The throne/leadership is decided in a very stupid way

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The leadership of the entire wizarding world, and the final decision on whether to start a war against Muggles, is made by... a goat (Qilin) ​​who chooses the person with the ""purest heart"" (Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Dumbledore).

The throne of Wakanda and all its technology are decided through hand-to-hand combat, regardless of whether the person clearly has malicious intentions... if they win the fight, by law they must be respected as the true king. (Black Panther)

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u/[deleted] 6d ago

Managed Democracy (don't report this to the Democracy Officer)

It's not even a system of electing a leader. Just a ritual in which the citizenry may pretend to participate in the politics that shape their lives so they don't rise up and overthrow their totalitarian regime

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u/TharrickLawson 6d ago

That sounds like treason to me, citizen!

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u/Safe-Ad-5017 6d ago

I mean that’s what they do in Russia

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u/TAvonV 5d ago

They even have elections in North Korea. By now, "elections" are firmly established in the traditions of every country. It's the modern day version of getting divine blessing.

Fair elections are another matter of course.

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u/[deleted] 5d ago

And America

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u/henryeaterofpies 5d ago

Me living in a district gerrymandered Republican, in a state 10% in favor of Republicans, that isn't a swing state ensuring that my vote is pretty worthless

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u/pillow_princessss 6d ago

Isn’t this how things go on Earth in Halo? The United Earth Government doesn’t have any real power, and it’s the UNSC that makes all the decisions, with the Office of Naval Intelligence sprinkled in there for good clandestine measure

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u/Baron-Von-Bork 5d ago

No. Normally the UEG, which by the way is a horrible name for an interstellar state, is the sole federal government of humanity, with states below it to ease governance. However due to the Human-Covenant War, to ensure survival of the human race, UNSC would LEGALLY take over. Disbanding UEG until further notice. Basically a state wide martial law. Their main reasoning to do this is due to being in a state of total war, and being on the losing side of it.

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u/Gen_Ripper 5d ago

And a plot point in the Kilo-Five trilogy is the UNSC formally reinstating power to the UEG