Exotic Governmental/Legal Systems

[The Colonel]

Originally Posted by Johnny1A.2

Requires a high-tech society, but:

Hereditary monarchy, rule by clone. The former king is cloned, in effect the society is ruled by an endless succession of identical twins. Since they grow up in different environments, they'll still be different people, more so than most natural twins, even if we assume the personality and identity are purely about genes and environment.

But they'll still be more similar to each other than any previous dynasty in history.

IIRC Wingrove's Chung-Ko series had the Chief Advisor to the Emperors do this - essentially every Emperor was advised by the same guy (I can't recall if they also used memory taping or something to ensure that he was literally the same guy or not...).

Originally Posted by Daigoro

Rule by deceased ancestor.

Thanatocracy would certainly be interesting for a fantasy setting - China Melliville's Bas Lag novels refer to a city called (I think) High Cromlech that is ruled by a caste of undead promoted from amongst the city's living population (although I don't recall being told on what basis).

[Daigoro]

Aesthetocracy, is, by my reckoning, either...

Government by Aesthetes
The city is protected by some powerful spirit, such as a dragon or minor god, who can only be appeased by the works or performances of a great artist. Thus, each generation, the land's greatest singer, dancer, painter, musician, sculptor or what-have-you, is sought out and presented as the spirit's consort. Once appeased, the spirit continues to protect the land and the consort governs as the land's supreme ruler. Whether their artistic training teaches them to be a good governor is another matter.

Government by Aesthetic Principles
Just as a mathematical theorem can be judged to be beautiful based on its inherent properties, as judged by trained mathematicians, so can legislation and legal rulings, as judged by lawmakers versed in legal aesthetics. Legislation will only be passed by the chamber if it's judged to be beautiful enough, not only in the language its encapsulated in, but also in the legal ruling it's pronouncing.

And yep, I have no idea how that would actually look in practice, or if it's at all practical.

[Johnny1A.2]

Originally Posted by Daigoro

Aesthetocracy, is, by my reckoning, either...

Government by Aesthetes
The city is protected by some powerful spirit, such as a dragon or minor god, who can only be appeased by the works or performances of a great artist. Thus, each generation, the land's greatest singer, dancer, painter, musician, sculptor or what-have-you, is sought out and presented as the spirit's consort. Once appeased, the spirit continues to protect the land and the consort governs as the land's supreme ruler. Whether their artistic training teaches them to be a good governor is another matter.

Government by Aesthetic Principles
Just as a mathematical theorem can be judged to be beautiful based on its inherent properties, as judged by trained mathematicians, so can legislation and legal rulings, as judged by lawmakers versed in legal aesthetics. Legislation will only be passed by the chamber if it's judged to be beautiful enough, not only in the language its encapsulated in, but also in the legal ruling it's pronouncing.

And yep, I have no idea how that would actually look in practice, or if it's at all practical.

The closest thing to it (and it's not very close) that I can think of in real world history would be the imperial courts of some very old, decayed empires, which seem almost to operate in a ritualistic fashion after the real power is gone. Think the Roman emperors after 410 A.D., or the late Ottoman Sultans.

[Daigoro]

Originally Posted by Johnny1A.2

The closest thing to it (and it's not very close) that I can think of in real world history would be the imperial courts of some very old, decayed empires, which seem almost to operate in a ritualistic fashion after the real power is gone. Think the Roman emperors after 410 A.D., or the late Ottoman Sultans.

Possibly Heian Period Japan? The emperors and courtiers were kept out of politics, reigning but not ruling, with a heavy schedule of rituals and ceremonies, while actual governance was carried out by less visible aristocrats.

Meanwhile the civil service were concerned with aesthetics, as per here:

In contrast with the Chinese ideal of rule by scholar-officials, we will see that in Heian Japan, the ideal that emerged was that of rule by officials with a highly refined sense of aesthetics, a model we might call the "aesthete-official."

...and:

“The world of formal offices and government administration was a forest of red tape and paper-shuffling. Government activity was largely a matter of external ceremony and form, with little regard for administrative efficiency...When viewed out of context, this sort of activity may seem a waste of time by today's standards. In the contexts of the values of Heian aristocratic society, however, proper dress was a major issue... Form was as important, or more so, than content..."

Doesn't really fit the mould of what I suggested though.

[The Colonel]

Originally Posted by Daigoro

Government by Aesthetic Principles
Just as a mathematical theorem can be judged to be beautiful based on its inherent properties, as judged by trained mathematicians, so can legislation and legal rulings, as judged by lawmakers versed in legal aesthetics. Legislation will only be passed by the chamber if it's judged to be beautiful enough, not only in the language its encapsulated in, but also in the legal ruling it's pronouncing.

Also, calligraphy and illuminated bills?

[Daigoro]

Originally Posted by The Colonel

Also, calligraphy and illuminated bills?

Indeed. It seems that a more likely, third definition is for governments that value form and appearance over practicality or efficiency.

[ericthered]

Variable length terms. When someone is elected, they don't know how long it will be until the next election. Some random process determines if an election to replace them will happen that quarter (or month, or year, or whatever). They have a decent idea of how long until the next election, but they don't know.

The idea is to prevent the actual timing of the election from interfering with government policy.

The exact mechanism for doing this is probably prone to tampering.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by ericthered

Variable length terms. When someone is elected, they don't know how long it will be until the next election.

Well, that's true in several Parliamentary systems already; you get a new election when sufficient time has passed, or someone dissolves Parliament. However, that's probably not the sort of thing you're thinking about.

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by Anthony

Well, that's true in several Parliamentary systems already; you get a new election when sufficient time has passed, or someone dissolves Parliament. However, that's probably not the sort of thing you're thinking about.

Yes, when I refer to a "Random" process, I mean truly random, not something that can be effected by a different part of the government. Though playing around with who can call for elections might result in several interesting variants.

[jason taylor]

Ostracism. This was done by Ancient Athens of course. But a revival could be used as a balance-of-power trick. A legislator's vote could be suspended on a minimum number of votes from the other chamber or the general populace or both or either. This does not need to mean exile(unlike the other version)nor need it imply dishonor, but only that a given politician is felt to have more power then is good for him.

Effectively it would be a political version of an antitrust suit.