Building a Universe

Politics

Politics makes the world go round. As social beings, humans rely on politics to get through their daily living. Politics, in this sense, is not just "those big wigs way out there in Warshington." Politics is the label given to how people interact with each other in groups. In this article, I take politics to mean any human interaction that involves hierarchy and power, including interactions between parents and children, bosses and workers, governors and police, and more.

Politics may be the single biggest driving force behind what your characters do throughout the story. It's the main component of Dune, that's for sure. Politics can constrain a character's actions. Politics can also give a character the right to act as they please.

When you are building a world, you must remember to think about the politics that goes on. Here are some questions you can ask yourself:

Who is the most politically powerful person?
Who is the most politically powerful group of people?
Are women in charge? Are men in charge? Does it matter?
How is power divided in society? Are there castes? Is the primary form of government democratic, feudalistic, socialist, etc.?
How do racial difference relate to political differences? Is one race more powerful than another? How did that situation come about? How is that situation perpetuated? How can that situation change?
How does the form of government affect the people in power? What sort of power are leaders allowed to wield?
What are the laws? Are there laws? Who wrote the laws? Can the laws change? Who do the laws apply to? What happens if someone breaks the laws?
What countries, states, races or peoples are allied with who? Who is at war?
What are the common political beliefs? How does one group of people feel about another group of people? How did this come about? Is it based on history, myth or something else?
Can you elevate yourself in the power structure, or are you stuck in a caste?
Are people happy with the political structure? Are they upset with it? Do people have the power to express disapproval of their leaders? What happens when civil unrest or riots break out?
What are the religions? Are they monotheistic, polytheistic, or something else? Is there more than one religion? If there are multiple religions, how do they differ? What does each religion think of the other?

There is a lot more aspects of politics you can think about. This is just to get you started. Once you start pondering these sorts of questions, you'll find yourself digging deeper into the political structure of your world. Who knows, you may be able to find a novel or two just from delving into the politics.