One problem I have with Ironwood's writing is that he has no ideology
That's it. The writers wrote him so that he would eventually become a dictator. But dictators usually have an ideology. Or at least they try to appear to have one to justify their repressive measures.
He doesn't seem like it. I mean, his original plan was to unify the world and defeat Salem together. Besides, he was willing to sacrifice Mantle to achieve his goals. Some might say that nationalists neglect certain parts of the country, but Ironwood really has no prejudice against the people of Mantle.
He has nothing against them; in fact, he has never indicated that he considers them inferior. He has even collaborated with Mantleans when the situation required it and was willing to evacuate them when the situation required it.
2.-Is he a human supremacist? He doesn't seem like it. I mean, he has Marrow in the ace ops. He trusts Blake. He lets Neon Katt represent Atlas in the tournament.
Even Forest admits the Happy Huntresses (which includes Fiona) could have joined the special operatives. So there doesn't seem to be any bias there.
3.-Is he a plutocrat? He collaborates with Jacques, and the Atlas military and the SDC develop technology together.
But that's about it. I mean, Jacques himself fell out with Ironwood and pointed out how the embargo was costing him money.
You could say it's to control the Dust, but it's not like that was James's motivation; he simply wanted to prevent Salem from infiltrating.
"Your Dust embargo has already cost me millions! I can promise you, I have not forgotten!"
"I needed to ensure Salem couldn't infiltrate Atlas. And I wanted my military here, protecting my people."
4.-Is he a conservative? Maybe. But there are some strange things going on there.
"They were all top Atlas Academy graduates, who could've enlisted in the military, but Robyn and the Huntresses chose to stay in Mantle. She's gunning for a seat on the Kingdom's council, and when she gets it, she's going to put an end to Ironwood's tyranny!"
Apparently, he would have allowed May, a trans woman, to join the army. He also implemented laws limiting gun ownership, as Clover mentioned.
In addition, the embargo is an obvious affront to free trade.
5.-Is he someone who believes in law and order? Despite his gun being named "Due Process," Ironwood actually has a more pragmatic approach to things.
When Ruby's group robbed the Manta, James simply chuckled.
In fact, he was able to cooperate with Robyn the night the heating went out.
And, if it weren't for the fight on the Manta, the army wouldn't have arrested Robyn.
"Only Qrow is under arrest. After everything we've been through tonight, please don't make me arrest you too."
So this one isn't either.
6.-Is he an authoritarian?
Yes. But authoritarianism, more than an ideology in itself, is a way of proceeding. One can take authoritarian measures regardless of their ideology.
7.-Militarism? That seems to be the right one. He trusts his army. But at the same time, he ended up working alongside the council for a long time, even if he didn't like the idea.
"I swear if I have to sit through one more council meeting like that…"
"Actually, I've already informed them. As this is now the site of a classified military operation, it didn't even require a vote."
Besides, Ironwood went to his respective trial, something many militarists wouldn't do.
James himself ended up not declaring martial law in the "Worst Case Scenario" episode. It was a golden opportunity to seize government power and eliminate the opposition, but he didn't.
I remind you that many dictators before their respective coups didn't even have political power beforehand, and yet they still went ahead with the coup. That's unlike Ironwood, who did have the political and military power to declare martial law, and yet he decided not to do so until Gravity.
So James is a militarist, but with nuances.
My point is, James doesn't follow a clear ideology. We could argue that he's a pragmatist, but that's more of an aptitude than an ideology.
And that's my problem. They simply make James look like a fool, and consequently, his followers like fools.
Are Marrow and Winter fools? Obviously not, but they seem like it.
Besides, again, dictators usually have ideologies.
In developing his character, the writers should have given him a clear ideology to make him seem more realistic and make sense. In this way, his actions would also be more consistent.
If they want him to be an ultra-nationalist, then show him ignoring his country's problems, believing that everything is perfect.
"No. No, you're right. Things in Mantle have been… hard to manage lately. I'm not blind to its issues. In fact, that's what I want to talk to you about."
On the contrary, Ironwood in the canon is shown as someone who recognizes internal problems.
Show him as someone who distrusts foreigners. That he doesn't trust Ruby, for example. Like, that he asks Penny to report any "strange behavior" from her friends. Or that he favors Weiss over everyone else.
If you want to show him as a human supremacist, then show him segregating Faunus within the armed forces, and mention that he doesn't trust Blake that much.
Don't just show Cordovin as a racist; show that this mentality is shared among the other officers.
If you want him to be a plutocrat, then show him forming alliances not only with Jacques, but also with other businessmen (who aren't Jacques' rivals). Show him favoring them and things like that.
Instead of just going to their parties out of obligation.
"She's the only one making sense around here. Thanks for the party, Jacques."
Something that could have been useful is, for example, having him meet with the other Atlas businessmen immediately after declaring martial law to ask for their support.
Offer Jacques conditional release if he gets the SDC ships to evacuate all the Dust and resources from Mantle.
And promise the other businessmen control over the resources if they use their private armies to maintain order once Atlas flies into the atmosphere.
Heck, even show Jacques raising Dust prices, and Ironwood accepting it.
If you want him to be a conservative, then show him convincing the council to implement conservative measures.
"I suppose the council trusts him, for better or worse."
"Well, the council's so scared, they'll agree to whatever he wants. Though, some representatives from Mantle… Wait, you're… You're Weiss Schnee!"
I mean, the council trusts his judgment to a certain extent.
If you want him to be militaristic, then show him implementing curfews much earlier, with assembly restrictions. Even imposing martial law much earlier in the series.
Show how his officers, like Winter, manage areas of government beyond their jurisdictions.
In short, sometimes Ironwood has conservative aspects, sometimes liberal ones (American definition). Sometimes he acts like a patriot, and sometimes he simply acts according to what suits the situation.
Ironwood doesn't have a "way of acting," he simply acts according to what the plot requires. I mean, we can say that he trusts in military force to solve his problems, but we've seen him try to escape with Atlas, believing he couldn't defeat Salem. Plus, he even tried to unite the world.
He follows strategies, but they don't revolve around an ideology.
Something I forgot to mention is that dictators usually want their ideologies to spread, not only through conquest but also by supporting governmental attempts by people of the same ideology in other countries.
Okay, obviously Ironwood isn't going to invade other kingdoms to spread his ideologies, but he might say in some scenes that he'll try to get other kingdoms to change their policies.
You know, not through intimidation, but through trade alliances and such.
Like, "In exchange for reducing my tariffs and ending the embargo, you could adopt certain political measures."
In that way those other kingdoms could be more "efficient" in their war against Salem.
I know that many dictators don't even have an ideology and only serve themselves. But Miles Luna himself pointed out that Ironwood believed what he was doing was right. So James does have ideals, just not ideologies.
Another thing, while Ironwood's embargo and border closures can be compared to real-life measures in the United States,
I think it's different. He's not closing borders out of xenophobia. He does it to prevent Salem and her minions from entering Atlas.
The embargo isn't a sanction against a government unfavorable to his, nor is it a way to force its collapse. He does it, again, to prevent Salem from entering Atlas.
That's all. I needed to clarify that.
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