The Wizarding World and Politics

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 126324


--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "someoneofsomeplace"
<someoneofsomeplace at y...> wrote:
> 
> 
> ... what do fellow listees make of the political system in the 
> Wizarding World.
> 
> Fudge is an "elected" representative of the population, but we don't 
> know to what extent this was a democratic process. ....
>
> There appears to be no discernable separation of powers OR enshrined 
> constitution OR independent, er... reputable, news medium. ....
> 
> I've speculated as to the role played by international law in the 
> wizarding world. Any thoughts?
> 
> John.

bboyminn:

Two main points-

First, I don't think the Ministry is a true government, although, that
is only /in a sense/. Obviously, they have law enforcement, civil and
criminal courts, and have a body that passes new laws. 

The Ministry's true purpose is to prevent the muggle world from
finding out about the magic world; JKR said as much. The bulk of the
/government's/ job is to deal with various aspect of this assigned
task. When the Statue of Secrecy was passed, I suspect it contained a
provision requiring all nations with a population of more that '_X_'
(fill in the blank) number of magical citizens to form an
administrative body to facilitate enforcing the Statue of Secrecy. As
bureaucracies have a tendancy to do, from this basic task, the
Ministry has grow into the behemoth of civil service that we see today.

(Interesting side note: There are more people working for the US Dept
of Agriculture, than there are farmers in the US. Bureaucracy at it's
finest.)

As an illstration, let's look at the Dept of Law Enforcement Divisions-
Department of Magical Law Enforcement
-Improper Use of Magic Office
-Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office
-Auror Headquarters (Dark Wizard Fighters)
-Wizengamot (Court) Administrative Offices

While not directly part of Law Enforcement, there is also the
'Accidental Magical Reversal Squad' and the 'Obliviator Headquarters',
which I can only conclude work very closely with Magical Law
Enforcement toward the end of enforcing the Statue of Secrecy.

Notice the lack of common muggle branchs of law enforcement, like
robbery, homicide, vice, drugs, organized crime, etc.... This
reenforces my belief that /Law/ is not /primarily/ about Law and
Order, but about enforcing the Statue of Secrecy.

Second, while I acknowledge the figure-head of Minister of Magic, and
don't deny his political clout, I see the wizard world as being ruled
by committee. The most powerful committee being the Wizengamot; which
is the true seat of government. The Wizengamot, I take to mean the
'committee of wise' or 'council of elders'. In a sense harkening back
to old tribal law were indeed a group of tribe elders were the
arbiters of right and wrong, and justice. 

Harry was tried before the /full court/ which we can assume is the
highest court in the land. From this, I assume that the size of a
court committee presiding over a hearing is based on the severity of
the crime. Minor civil and criminal matters are presided over by
single judge, who hears both sides, and makes a ruling. Other cases
may require three judges, others five, others seven, etc....

Notice that much like the Council of Elders, each side represents
themselves. That is, they do not have an advocate or representative
(read- lawyer) to advise them on their rights, law, and procedure, or
to speak on their behalf. In theory that is not necessary, because as
the representatives of justice in the wizard world, the court is
neutral, and will hear both sides and rule without prejudice. 

Of course, when an soft-spoken, meek, uneducated person has to make
his case against an educated, aggresive, well-spoken, intimidating man
of influence, it's not really a fair match.

Also, rule by committe is very prone to corruption as we see in the
manner in which Minister Fudge conducted Harry's trial. If Dumbledore
hadn't appear as a self-proclaimed 'witness for the defense', and in
reality acted as Harry's advocate, Harry would have been soooooo screwed.

In a sense, we see minor degrees of corruption at all levels of
government, gold changing hands, exchanging of favors, loopholed laws,
etc....

Now on the matter of elections, again, I think the Wizangmot is the
central authority. Among other things, they bring proposals into law.
In addition, I think they appoint the next Minister of Magic, but
before doing so, they pole (formally or informally) public opinion to
determine which candidates are favored. While the Wizengamot can't
ignore general public opinion, I don't think they are bound by it. 

There is one exception however, if public opinion becomes so strongly
negative and vocal that the Wizengamot can't ignore it, that is the
same as a de facto 'Vote of No Confidence', and essentially forces the
appointment of a new goverment official (could be the Minister, or it
could just be one of the department heads, etc...).

I believe this is what will happen to Fudge, people will be so
outraged at his incompetence, that the Wizengamot will have no choice
but to dismiss him. Although in true political fashion, he will be
allowed to resign to 'pursue other interests and spend more time with
his family'. That saves him the disgrace of being thrown from office.
When he resigns, the bulk of his supportive adminstration (Umbridge)
will resign with him. I think all or nearly all department heads will
stay, but those higher up and closer to Fudge will leave with him.

One thing we haven't seen, and that I wonder very much about, is
whether the Minister has a Cabinet, a group of appointed advisers who
work for him in a paid capacity. I'm very curious about the structure
of the government in the area between the department heads and the
Minister himself. Perhaps, the Cabinet is made up of his department
heads, and they act as his adviser, each in their area of expertice. I
guess that's actually two points, the Cabinet, and the structure of
government between the dept heads and the Minister.

Also note that some department heads are also members of the
Wizengamot, so their is some overlap in function. Can we also assume
an overlap in pay; one paycheck for department head, and an additional
paycheck for Wizengamot member. That combination would probably reap a
pretty substantial income. I would also speculate that Ministry
members aren't prevented from engaging in outside businesses which
would substantially improve their income, and open the door to more
corruption. 

Just a few thoughts.

Steve/bboyminn