National Leadership in Stormblood and Heavensward

[CaesarCV]

One thing interesting I noticed (and frankly wanted to write about) are the different styles of leadership that are present in the game and its expansions. This post will be focusing on the heroic leaders more than the villainous ones, which I'll save for a different thread. What's particularly interesting about the portrayal of Leadership in this game is that they show the very different roles, abilities, and strengths of various characters in them. Let's discuss a few of the more prolific leaders in the game, and just what it is they represent. I'll focus on the three leaders below for now, but feel free to ask and I'll make either a new thread for the ARR City states or simply more posts. But without further ado-

Aymeric: Leader as Decider: Upon our first meeting, in addition to noticing Aymeric's handsome mien and polite behavior, one thing that can be clearly shown is Aymeric's pragmatism. When Alphinaud attempted to use his diplomatic wiles on Aymeric, he was immediately shut down with veiled threats and ultimatums. But Aymeric is far from a cruel tyrant. He is still presented as a noble figure, willing to do what is right and best for his people. Notably, he is willing to do what is best for them even if they don't all want it, most notably with his decision to end the Dragonsong War and reveal the truth of its origins to the populace. This has lead to its own fair share of problems, such as the revolt and the True Brothers of the Faith, but it's also bringing Ishgard out of a millennia long war that caused untold suffering. Aymeric is similarly willing to sacrifice those he cares about for the good of the people, as seen by his willingness to slay Estinien if it comes down to that. He represents the kinds of leaders that push society forward and make decisions for their peoples.

Hien: Leader as Servant: Hien, in a lot of ways, makes a very interesting contrast to Aymeric. While both are princes of a sort, Hien is much more proud of his inherited position. Where Aymeric has a very pretty, svelte appearance with shining armor, Hien is usually wearing much more ragged clothing and has a much more rugged appearance, complete with a scraggly beard. They also differ greatly in leadership styles. Where Aymeric was willing to subvert his society and the people's will, Hien is bound to it. He states that he's unwilling to even attempt a revolution without the clear support of the people, and is devoted to honoring his forbearer's memory. Where Aymeric proved his status as a leader through skill and savvy (hence being elected leader of the house of lords) Hien instead proved his utmost loyalty to his people, and is thus beloved as their new Emperor. The main act that doesn't fit this mold is the destruction of Doma Castle...but they had to make the dungeon cooler I suppose. Hien represents the good side of governments and leaders, as those willing to aid their people and reward them for their loyalty.

Lyse: Leader as Inspiration: For Lyse, I'm more going to talk about what the writer's attempted rather than what we got necessarily. To be frank the implementation of the character could use some work. But the ideas are solid, and I'll describe what she represents here. While some leaders make decisions for their societies like Aymeric, or serve them like Hien, others serve as an inspiration for the future. Joan of Arc and Mahatma Gahndi did not rule their nations, but inspired others to stand up for the cause. While many decry Lyse for her lack of true leadership experience, she instead is a more symbolic leader, a harbinger of a newer, brighter Ala Migho. The story shows how she wants to help build a better Ala Migho for everyone, and to help however she can. She is no commander like Aymeric, nor a king like Hien, but she does know how to help others and be the inspiration they need. Note how earlier I said they were attempting to go for this, it's really not shown the best in game.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this little rant, and I'd be happy to see some more discussion below. How do you feel about these or other leaders in the game?

[Belhi]

I think in Lyse's defence, she hasn't exactly had a lot of opportunity to be leading yet. Mostly its just been directing Resistance units in the final push on Ala Mhigo

[TinyRedLeaf]

I'd have more to say, if I can find the time. But I'll just add that, under the current Grand Company system, Gridania, Ul'dah and Limsa Lominsa are, in theory at least, totalitarian states, with all the good and bad things that come with such political structures. Ishgard may now be a republic, but the aristocracy remains very much in political control. We don't have too many details about Sharlayan, and I'd like to imagine that it's most "democratic" of the city-states, but I have my doubts.

In short, politics in Eorzea and beyond remains very much in its rudimentary stages. The modern concept of people power doesn't quite exist. In fact, the people still habitually look towards invested with the "divine right" to rule. The forms of monarchy (or pseudo-monarchy, as the case may be) may differ, but it still comes down basically to leadership by might, among a handful of elites.

[AphraelAmarantha]

I feel the WoL is a better leader of inspiration than Lyse will ever be. She even mentions her shortcomings compared to them. Even some people who followed the Griffin were more inspired by the WoL to take action, even if it was misguided.

[YianKutku]

I'd have more to say, if I can find the time. But I'll just add that, under the current Grand Company system, Gridania, Ul'dah and Limsa Lominsa are, in theory at least, totalitarian states, with all the good and bad things that come with such political structures. Ishgard may now be a republic, but the aristocracy remains very much in political control. We don't have too many details about Sharlayan, and I'd like to imagine that it's most "democratic" of the city-states, but I have my doubts.

Ul'dah is straight-up monarchy in theory, but in practice an oligarchy by the richest citizens in the Syndicate. Raubahn may be the leader of the Immortal Flames, but he's probably far less influential than Lolorito.

Gridania is, as mentioned in previous threads and elsewhere, rule by genetic lottery, ie the Padjals. (Term shamelessly stolen from Anonymoose, thanks.) And above the Padjals are the Elementals, who don't really care about human concerns. Replace "Elementals" with "AI" and we've got a cyberpunk dystopia.

Limsa Lominsa is a weird case. Technically, assuming it follows RL pirate tradition, it's a weird form of democracy: the pirate crews elect (or un-elect) their captains through direct democracy. The captain then has a chance to become the Admiral through the Trident, which has nothing to do with popular representation and everything to do with maritime skill and ruthlessness.

However, Merlwyb has been Admiral since 6A 1563, and there have been no signs that a Trident is planned, despite it being exactly the time for one based on the lorebook (Trident every seven years, meaning one should have happened in 1570, and the current year is 1577).

Apparently back in 1.0 (again, information gratefully received from Anonymoose), there was talk of a Trident coming up... except the in-game year then was 1572. And there were Echo flashbacks to 1562, with the assassination of the then-Admiral, which would imply a Trident soon afterwards to elect a new one. As with many things from 1.0, all this never really panned out to anything.

Putting the timeline weirdness aside, it's heavily implied that upon Merlwyb's ascension to Admiral, Limsa has become less democratic and more autocratic.

Ishgard is this uncertain case where there's a House of Lords and a House of Commons, and we still have no idea how the actual balance of power tilts. We see lots of Aymeric (and Lucia) as the representative of their nation in Stormblood, but that's mostly because Aymeric is still technically the leader of Ishgard's armed forces, along with all his other titles, including "Azure Dragoon" (somehow).

Sharlayan is, based on the lorebook, a representative democracy. Citizens vote for the 99 members of the Forum, who then govern for an undefined amount of time; presumably there are regular elections, since we hear of political factions gaining and losing influence. Of course, the usual caveat about democracies applies: just because the people make the decisions doesn't mean the decisions are enlightened. After all, at least one member of the Forum is a proven murderer, who attempts to kill the WoL (and the Astrologian NPCs) in the 50-60 AST questline.

I feel the WoL is a better leader of inspiration than Lyse will ever be. She even mentions her shortcomings compared to them. Even some people who followed the Griffin were more inspired by the WoL to take action, even if it was misguided.

The WoL may be more inspirational (and better than just about everything than the NPCs), but we're also very difficult to pin down and made to stay in one place for an extended period of time.

Lyse at least has the advantage of being able to continue being an inspiration at the source, instead of being a distant adventurer having adventures elsewhere.

[CaesarCV]

To echo some of the thoughts here, especially YianKutu's wonderful post, I have to say that the city states (other than Limsa Lominsa) probably can't truly be considered totalitarian or fully autocratic. That being said, although they are not totalitarian, most of them aren't exactly up to modern standards of democracy and the like. All of them have a bit older power structures, and all of them have some serious issues with their governing structures. It's hard to call Raugban some sort of autocrat when he doesn't even have control of the police. Nanamo also has very little power in general, despite technically being a hereditary monarch.


It's also interesting to bring up Sharlyan in this context. Sharylan appears to be the most 'democratic' city state, even noted to have been using a direct democracy until their population became too large for that to be possible. They also more notably have equality and a very cosmopolitan nature, to the point that they refuse to release population statistics on racial distribution. We're not even sure who the current Speaker (the vague leader of the Forum) is at the moment, but we do know that competition can be fierce. In the AST questline, they unfortunately imply that Sharlyan politics are especially in trouble. Sevestre was said to bring his conservative Bibliothec faction into power through extortion, bribery, and skullduggery, something similar to the rise of various fascist governments in the past. When we inevitably go to Sharlyan for an expansion, I wouldn't be shocked to see some rather dark factions have taken power. Personally I like this about the Sharlyans, if they did not have elements like that they would probably be too Utopian. Not to mention their mysterious situation with Garlemald...

[Berethos]

The main act that doesn't fit this mold is the destruction of Doma Castle...but they had to make the dungeon cooler I suppose.

I think this still fits the mold of Hien as presented - the kind of leader that would do anything to keep his people safe due to his loyalty to them, including offering his own life, is the kind that would not hesitate to destroy his own house if it meant giving his people a better chance at freedom.

[Mysterysword]

I find it fun to speculate about Sharlayan, since I often (jokingly) think of it as a fantasy version of Nazi Germany. Or really, any other kind of closed-off, secretive, totalitarian regime in the past or present. In the AST questline, we're told that the Sharlayan government apparently sanctions a form of solitary confinement that's simply psychological torture through sensory deprivation - and they're subjecting one of their own citizens, a presumably well-respected mage and scholar, to this.

Sharlayan citizens aren't allowed to leave their country and if they do, I suppose they're not allowed to return... unless you're a Leveilleur, since the laws don't apply to you then.

They're willing to send assassins after Leveva, and I'm still curious as to why the Scions, Moenbryda, or Krile didn't/haven't had to deal with this yet. From a story-writing standpoint, I can tell that throwing in some assassins into the mix would've bloated the plot too much, perhaps. Unless they're saving that for a later expansion.

And lastly, I would not be surprised if the Sharlayan government turned out to be collaborating with the Garleans, presumably in exchange for protection from invasion and being allowed to maintain their autonomy. It's honestly the best explanation I can think of, as to why a nation of scholars would be so confident in their defenses against a world-dominating empire.

P. S: Democracy and totalitarianism aren't mutually exclusive, if people from the same family are consistently being elected to the same positions their forefathers held. Sharlayan apparently still maintains a system of nobility, going by Alphinaud referring to "House Leveilleur". I'd almost expect that Sharlayan is similar to Ishgard, in that there's a huge class divide between the wealthy elite (who can afford fancy education that benefits them in politics) and the commoner craftsmen. But then we'd be looking at Ishgard all over again, and I'm sure the writers are smart enough to subvert my expectations.

[Vexander]

Would it be weird to say I saw Gridania as something of a Benign Cult? Semi Benign.

You have these secretive, rarely seen leaders held as gods (Elementals) who create and empower a privileged caste (Padjals who have White Magic, an otherwise taboo art), and this privileged caste passes down interpretations from the Gods above that dictates how people live. The people are taught to fear their gods to the point that they desperately rely on the privileged caste to avoid destruction and despair. Certain horrible acts committed by the Gods are seen as perfectly acceptable and just (I believe in 1.0 a child was turned to stone for invoking the green wrath by something like stepping on the grass). Outsiders are shunned, and contact is cut off (less so these days in game, but its a common indoctrination and brainwashing technique used by cults to make their members very insular so they cannot be influenced away from the cult's teachings).

I guess (in my opinion) Gridania just had a lot of Cult-like activity to me, but that it was judged as beneficial or benign because people got to live in the Twelveswoods.

I find it fun to speculate about Sharlayan, since I often (jokingly) think of it as a fantasy version of Nazi Germany. Or really, any other kind of closed-off, secretive, totalitarian regime in the past or present. In the AST questline, we're told that the Sharlayan government apparently sanctions a form of solitary confinement that's simply psychological torture through sensory deprivation - and they're subjecting one of their own citizens, a presumably well-respected mage and scholar, to this.

Sharlayan citizens aren't allowed to leave their country and if they do, I suppose they're not allowed to return... unless you're a Leveilleur, since the laws don't apply to you then.

They're willing to send assassins after Leveva, and I'm still curious as to why the Scions, Moenbryda, or Krile didn't/haven't had to deal with this yet. From a story-writing standpoint, I can tell that throwing in some assassins into the mix would've bloated the plot too much, perhaps. Unless they're saving that for a later expansion.

And lastly, I would not be surprised if the Sharlayan government turned out to be collaborating with the Garleans, presumably in exchange for protection from invasion and being allowed to maintain their autonomy. It's honestly the best explanation I can think of, as to why a nation of scholars would be so confident in their defenses against a world-dominating empire.

Just to touch up on some of the Sharlayan stuff.

For the most part the most influential faction in the forum, led by Louisoix's son, has adopted a, 'People can do whatever,' policy as far as Eorzea is concerned. This is why The Scions of the Seventh Dawn haven't been hauled back to Sharlayan and put on Trial yet. They're basically acting not as an extension of Sharlayan, but as a separate group that happens to have a significant portion of its leadership from Sharlayan. Sharlayan citizens -are- allowed to leave their country, and they're allowed to return. Its simply that few have reason to leave, and those who do have reason to leave, have reasons not to return.

Levava and the Bibliothecs are a unique focus for Sharlayan rather than the norm. The Bibliothecs are in favor of isolationism, but more importantly, they are staunchly against, 'Sharing Sharlayan Knowledge,' with non-Sharlayans. In Levava's case, she is SPECIFICALLY teaching the Sharlayan art of Astromancy to outsiders. That is why they tried hard to silence her.

As for the relations between Sharlayan and Garlemald, Sharlayan maintains its standard position of not influencing history, and so doesn't oppose Garlemald. It doesn't support it either. As for why Garlemald has not attacked Sharlayan, during the 2.0 MSQ Minfilia states that the Garleans are afraid of Sharlayan's magical prowess. This is supported during the Warring Triad storyline where Urianger has created a barrier around parts of the Aetherochemical Research Facility to keep the Garleans away from sensitive artifacts and information. The barriers are too powerful for the Garleans to overcome, which is how Unukhalai was able to lure the Garleans into a trap by breaking the barrier with the echo.

Which brings us to the interesting thought of, if Garlemald has Resonant, is Sharlayan as safe as it always believed it was?

[FJerome]

The White Mage questline makes it seem like being a Padjal isn't all that great after all. It's a gilded cage, you get power and influence but only if you live your life within the very strict boundaries expected of you, with even journeying outside the Shroud being seen as inappropriate behaviour.

The ruling class seems to be more the Hearers, especially because there's so few Padjal and a lot of leeway in interpreting what the Elementals are saying. In the Leatherworker questline there's a Hearer brazenly claiming the Elementals are demanding something they aren't because it allows him to push his own agenda.