Guild Wars 2

Now I know this is somewhat political, but I found it a bit odd and frankly alarming how the different racial governments in the latest story part are portrayed.
On the one hand we have the monarchy of Divinity’s Reach, and the military dictatorship of the charr being shown as absolutetly great, happy, and efficient. On the other hand, the republican organized Asura are shown to be petty, corrupt and all in all not being able to properly govern themselves.
In fact, groups like the White Mantle, who wanna abolish the monarchy are probably going to be the villains in the near future. (I know their role in the first game, but without the Mursaat and Khilbron, there isn’t much evil left in them)
Is anyone else bothered by this?

Pay some closer attention, and you’ll see that what you’ve said isn’t actually how they’re portrayed.

Even if it were, no, I definitely wouldn’t be bothered.

Could you elaborate that a bit? This mostly got to my attention with the whole “world summit” plot. But it is also in the personal story. The Asura council is shown to be ineffective, petty and power hungry, while the (unelected) charr and human leaders are shown to be benevolent and wise.

phoenix.3465:

Now I know this is somewhat political, but I found it a bit odd and frankly alarming how the different racial governments in the latest story part are portrayed.
On the one hand we have the monarchy of Divinity’s Reach, and the military dictatorship of the charr being shown as absolutetly great, happy, and efficient.

I wouldn’t call Charr society a dictatorship. I don’t think any Charr would consider him or herself oppressed by a tyrannical government. Charr society is more like one big army, with one general. The monarchy in Divinity’s Reach is also formed by the ministry, who are always bickering.

phoenix.3465:

On the other hand, the republican organized Asura are shown to be petty, corrupt and all in all not being able to properly govern themselves.

I wouldn’t describe Asuran society as republican OR corrupt. They are more like a big group of bickering egomaniacs, all with their own personal agendas.

Mad Queen Malafide.7512:

I wouldn’t call Charr society a dictatorship. I don’t think any Charr would consider him or herself oppressed by a tyrannical government. Charr society is more like one big army, with one general. The monarchy in Divinity’s Reach is also formed by the ministry, who are always bickering.

And still, normal citizens do not have any influence on political descisions in charr society. In fact, parents have their children taken for military indoctrination at a young age.
What about charr merchants, artisans, workers etc. They all have to follow the orders of the military leader.
And it is exactly the ministry, the part of Kryta’s government not absolutely ruled by the queen, that is shown to be, just like the asura council, inefficient, power hungry, arrogant and petty.

I don’t know if I am right with the Arcane Council actually being republican, I just was given the impression they are somehow elected…

In my understanding both the Arcane Council members are elected… by the members of the Arcane Council. It’s more of an oligarchy than a republic.
While it is true the ministry is not run by the Queen, it is by no means run by the common people. It is run by the aristocratic elite, who are power hungry.
The Charr government has had its ups and downs. Take the Flame Legion for example. They used to be the leaders of the Charr, but due to social issues (crazy religious zealots and oppression of females) they were, effectively, overthrown by the other three legions. There is also a bit of infighting and tension between the legions. You don’t see too much of it outside of the Charr personal story (and even there it is quite mild) but it does exist.
We also know that the human government isn’t exactly efficient. The large number of bandit and resistance groups within their territory can tell you that much. Walk around Ebonhawke for a bit and you can see that not all the people are happy with Queen Jenna’s leadership.

Whilst the charr government aren’t democratically elected they’re not a tyranny or a dictatorship either. Ranks aren’t inherited (either within families or within warbands) and I don’t think they even get to choose their own successors. Officials can also be challenged and deposed by those below them (as shown in the Blood Legion personal story).

The closest term is probably meritocracy – where a job or rank is assigned to the person considered to be the best one to do it. Like any system of government it’s not perfect, it’s open to being basically a personality contest for one thing, but it’s not totally unfair and certainly not any more oppressive than anything else.

As for Kryta their system of government seems very similar to what we currently have in the UK – where power is shared (in a complicated, round-about) way between an unelected monarch and ministers who can either be elected, inherit the position or be assigned by their peers. And the majority of the time it’s definitely the elected ones who has everyone worried about their motives, abilities and intentions.

The Charr government is essentially a military meritocracy. While one’s superiors essentially have all the power, Charr society is unique in that if one feels that one’s superior is ineffective, corrupt or otherwise unfit to hold that question, it is the right (and duty) of every Charr to challenge one’s superior for their position. As such, Charr who are unworthy or useless in their positions don’t hold it for very long; they either get demoted or transferred by their superiors when it becomes clear they are not qualified, or they get challenged (and sometimes killed) by their subordinates.

This results in a highly efficient society, but it also likely has a high turnover rate.

The Krytan government seems to be fairly efficient, and probably would hold a much more prominent position in world politics were it not being hamstrung by the internal machinations of the Ministry faction controlled by Caudecus, who are all but confirmed to be working with treasonous factions such as the Separatists, Centaurs and White Mantle to destabilise and eventually overthrow Queen Jennah.

The trouble with the Asuran government is largely a societal one. The Asura themselves DON’T want to rule; most Asura want nothing more than to be left alone with their krewes and their research. They view a promotion to the Arcane Council with dread, since it strips them of valuable research time. As such, the Councilors are largely comprised of people who don’t really want to be there (such as High Councilor Flax), are hinted to be fairly incompetent at research (Councilor Phlunt), or who sought the position for selfish/sinister reasons (Councilor Yahk of the Inquest).

Is it any wonder then that the Arcane Council seems to be useless and/or corrupt?

It’s mostly because the Asura and Norn want to flourish as a person and not as a race. As a result, they push their own desires and leave others be. They only have a minimal government to avoid extremes