Can you distinguish the ruthless, quasi-medieval realm of Westeros from some of the real world’s most troubled countries?
Can you distinguish the ruthless, quasi-medieval realm of Westeros from some of the real world’s most troubled countries?
Freedom House has applied its Freedom in the World methodology to the realm of Westeros from HBO’s hit series Game of Thrones, giving the fictional state a score of just 6 out of 100, with 100 representing the most free and democratic environment.
But many of the institutional weaknesses and human rights abuses found in Westeros are not unlike those in some parts of our own flawed world. See if you can tell one from the other.
1. The incumbent leader seized power by overthrowing and executing his own uncle.
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Westeros
Real world.(Far right) President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, the current president of Equatorial Guinea, seized power in a violent 1979 coup against his uncle, Francisco Macías Nguema, then oversaw a hasty military trial that ended with Macías’s execution.
2. There are no national elections, but succession disputes in one isolated region can be settled with a public vote by noblemen and ship captains.
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Westeros
Westeros.The sigil of the Greyjoys of Pyke, the seat of the Iron Islands in Westeros. Succession disputes in the Iron Islands can be settled with an electoral assembly of local elites known as a “kingsmoot.” However, like Westeros, a number of countries in the real world still have no direct national elections based on universal suffrage, including Saudi Arabia, China, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Brunei, Eritrea, and Somalia.
3. The current ruler took power after his father fell ill and died, and in an unusual move, he later named his wife as his designated successor.
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Westeros
Real world.The current president of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, directly succeeded his father in 2003 and named his wife as “first vice president” in 2017. Other current leaders of republics who succeeded their fathers in office—in some cases with brief procedural interregnums—include Kim Jong-un of North Korea, Ali Bongo Ondimba of Gabon, Faure Gnassingbé of Togo, and Bashar al-Assad of Syria. Nicaragua’s first lady, Rosario Murillo, is also the vice president.
4. The most sacred site of the dominant religious faith was recently destroyed in a massive bombing.
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Westeros
Westeros.Jonathan Pryce, Natalie Dormer, Hannah Waddingham. (Credit: Macall B. Polay/HBO).Cersei Lannister engineered the destruction of the Great Sept, center of the dominant Faith of the Seven. The explosion was timed to eliminate many of her political enemies, clearing the way for her to seize the throne. In most real-world countries, it is the religious sites of minority groups that tend to suffer attacks.
5. Parts of the east and south have been captured by rebels and invading armies, but the central government has received financial support from abroad and seems to have fought the attackers to a stalemate.
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Westeros
Real world. Russian forces have occupied Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in the south and supported separatist rebels in the east, but the government in Kyiv has held its ground and received aid from Europe and the United States. The Lannister government in Westeros has faced rebel assaults and invasions from all directions; perhaps the most dire threat emanates from the north.
6. Same-sex sexual activity is not a crime under secular law, but until recently, some extremists had attempted to punish such activity under their interpretation of religious law.
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Westeros
Westeros.Eugene Simon (Credit: Helen Sloan/HBO).A recent High Septon led a faction of religious militants who persecuted those suspected of same-sex sexual activity, but their campaign apparently ended when he and many supporters were killed in the bombing of the Great Sept. Unfortunately, such persecution continues in many parts of the real world.
7. The current dynasty began with a rebellion against a corrupt tyrant, but it has since become oppressive itself. The next presumed heir is not a member of the ruling family, though he apparently shares its approach to governance.
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Westeros
Real world.The Communist Party regime in Cuba, which began with a revolt against strongman Fulgencio Batista, has been led by the Castro family since its inception. However, President Raúl Castro is expected to pass the baton this month to First Vice President Miguel Díaz-Canel, who has expressed hard-line views.
8. The current leader ordered his uncle’s execution and his half-brother’s assassination, and sent his sister to a hostile state for diplomatic reasons.
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Westeros
Real world.North Korean despot Kim Jong-un reportedly had his uncle and adviser, Jang Song-thaek, executed in 2013. In 2017, he allegedly ordered his half-brother Kim Jong-nam killed with a deadly nerve agent in Malaysia. And earlier this year, he dispatched his sister Kim Yo-jong to attend the Winter Olympics in South Korea, clearing the way for talks on North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.
9. A large population of refugees fleeing conflict have been allowed to enter the country, but they have been recruited to defend the frontier they recently crossed.
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Westeros
Westeros.The Free Folk, played by Members of the band Mastadon returned to Game of Thrones. Second from the left is Bill Kelliher, third from left is Brent HInds (Credit: Courtesy of HBO).The northern leader Jon Snow allowed Free Folk refugees, known derisively as Wildlings, to move south into Westeros proper, but they were soon recruited to defend the border wall against inhuman invaders, leading them to suffer many casualties. Migrants and refugees in the real world have also faced various forms of mistreatment, and Iran in particular has been accused of improperly recruiting Afghan migrants to fight in Syria.
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Westeros
