Freedom House, a democracy advocacy group co founded by Eleanor Roosevelt in 1941, has turned its attention to Westeros as of season 7, and the results were not good. Each year, Freedom House examines and ranks the countries of the world in terms of democracy and political freedom, releasing an annual report. And whoever’s idea it was to rank the Seven Kingdoms this year, we applaud you. Let’s examine the results.
Right off the bat, Freedom House gives Westeros as a 7 out of 7 Freedom Ranking, with the Seven Kingdoms receiving the same score in Political Rights and Civil Liberties. While that might please the High Septon, a seven is the lowest possible score. Not a great start, and the news doesn’t get any better. Several “key developments” played into the score.
Freedom House notes that the ongoing civil war in the Seven Kingdoms likely means civil liberties will continue to be trampled upon, including the use of chemical weapons (dragonfire) by rebel forces. Looking at you Daenerys. Likewise, both sides performed several “high level” executions, further indicating a lack of democratic decline. It seems even when you execute Sand Snakes, it still counts against you.
From there, the report gets even more detailed. Freedom House was not playing around, and examined every aspect of the Seven Kingdoms, just as if it was a real country. Highlights include:
- Do individuals enjoy freedom of movement, including the ability to change their place of residence, employment, or education? 0 / 4
“The long-running civil conflict has seriously impaired freedom of movement within Westeros, with government and rebel armies, raiders from the Iron Islands and beyond the Wall, and armed groups of bandits and deserters all presenting obstacles to safe travel.”
- Is there protection from the illegitimate use of physical force and freedom from war and insurgencies? 0 / 4
“The conflict has also entailed a general breakdown in the rule of law, with a growing list of major crimes that have gone unpunished. For example, members of House Frey, the ruling family in the Riverlands, were murdered en masse early in 2017, and their apparent killer, Arya Stark, remained at large at year’s end.”
- Were the current national legislative representatives elected through free and fair elections? 0 / 4
“There is no national legislature in Westeros, though regional rulers sometimes summon ad hoc assemblies of their vassal lords to discuss and ratify major decisions.”
We especially liked how Freedom House criticized Sansa Stark’s trial of Petyr Baelish, noting that “the defendant was offered no counsel, preparation, access to witnesses, or other fundamental rights.” Poor Littlefinger. Regarding the use of chemical weapons, Freedom House also noted that the Night King used a “modified” version of dragonfire. That’s one way of putting it.
If the highlights caught your interest, the entire report contains even more wonderful antecedents. Again, we applaud Freedom House for its attention to detail.
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