Happy WBW! Because I'm trying to figure it out... Who's in charge in your world? What is that system of power like?
Happy WBW! Thanks for the ask!
The honest answer is, I have no clue who the actual head of government/state is in my world. It didn’t come up in the first 3 books of The Unchained series and so I just never mentioned it. 😅
In broad terms, the New North American Union is a loose confederation similar to the European Union, where all countries in the union are now subject to the same laws.
It has separation of powers with executive, legislative and judicial branches, and actually part of why it’s so chilling is because it IS so similar to current systems. There are multiple political parties (there may even be an abolitionist party who has won a few legislative seats in extremely progressive areas, but they have very little pull and are consistently painted in the media and by their opponents as dangerous fringe radicals who can’t be allowed to seize more power). There is also significant control at the local level. Different regions and cities still make their own laws about some things.
Interestingly for a dystopia, it is not a dictatorship. The government is democratically elected in fair and honest elections. There is not one tyrannical “supreme leader” who must be defeated. This is of course not always conducive to the fiery and dramatic rebellions and uprisings we’re used to in dystopian books. In a system like this, change often comes about … systemically, one person at a time. (Yeah, I know, but it’s interesting, I swear).
HOWEVER. I suspect the democratically elected leaders are in fact controlled through campaign donations by a small group of slaveholding oligarchs determined to keep the slave system going and cling to their power and wealth by any means necessary. And that’s where things get interesting.
Gonna have to figure more about this out for Book 4 though because in a dystopian series it’s kinda important. You can’t overthrow an oppressive government unless you know who’s in charge. 😅
