Who Has the Power?
It’s a trick, a shadow on the wall.
Power resides where men believe it resides. It’s a trick, a shadow on the wall.
So said Queen Cersei Lannister in the zeitgeisty show Game of Thrones, where the dynamics of power is a major central theme.
I wanted to discuss this idea in relation to the empire because I’d like people to be considering this question: does power hide? and if so how, and where? Bear with me, as this essay is not to discuss fiction but reality. I wish to provide you with a lens with which to consider organizational theory and the complexity of systems of power.
One of the reasons many people were obsessed with Game of Thrones in the 2010s was not for its fantasy elements but its geopolitics. Unlike many other stories, Game of Thrones did not conceptualize power as a simplistic, black-and-white notion or something that could only be possessed by a single player. Rather, power was characterized as a dynamic and constantly moving system, a complex network made up of competing power factions, structures, organizations, and prominent families. The show portrays a time where power in a kingdom is contested, and the kingdom becomes embroiled in war and crisis. The interaction between competing factions of power sets off chain reactions, power vacuums, and rotating allegiances which then becomes a Rube Goldberg machine, creating new butterfly effects depending on the decisions of each individual faction or player.
As power rises and falls amongst the competing factions, Game of Thrones asks the question of what power actually is and therefore who actually holds the most of it. For someone who has never seen the show, the easy answer is “the King,” or whoever happens to be sitting on the Iron Throne. But power is dynamic, and this is something I’d like you to apply to your own reality if you are still Awakening.
The King or Monarch represents the person who is acknowledged publicly within the kingdom as the person who holds the most executive power. Symbolically and visually, he wears the crown and addresses the public, and he is legally acknowledged as the populace’s ruler. It is not that he does not have power. But how does one conceptualize what his “power” is when you consider the influence of all the competing factions below?
The King for example may have power but not control. He relies on a certain degree of support to maintain this control. He has for example Advisors working behind the scenes, who may be shrewder, more manipulative, or better connected to powerful factions than the King himself. In the show, King Joffrey, a teenager, has his grandfather Tywin in his “Small Council.” For some time, despite not wearing the crown, Tywin holds a significant position of power over the kingdom, as Joffrey is young, temperamental, and unpopular, while Tywin is wealthy, heads an extremely influential family, and enjoys a position of influence over both the Nobility and the King.
Advisors can also be Shadowy Advisors or Chaos Agents, represented by the character Peter Baelish. Baelish is one of the most intelligent and conniving characters in the show, but as he holds a position that is less in the spotlight, he can operate in the shadows and escape the notice of the public eye. In darkness, he can then use connections and tools at his disposal to quietly rise in power. For Baelish, this includes connections to powerful families and ownership of a brothel, where he uses people’s sexual desires as a mechanism of bribery and control. Sexuality, pornography, and sexual assault are frequently utilized in reality as tools of power and control, as we can see by what recently happened to Glenn Greenwald for his courageous journalism and defense of Palestine.
The King must also maintain support with the kingdom’s Nobility. The Nobility, with their wealth and social positions across the kingdom, can either choose to enforce the king’s will or compete for power. Legally they are not the kingdom’s leader, but practically speaking, they may actually be more powerful if they are wealthier or better perceived than the King. They may use their wealth to control the King, or manipulate other tools of power like the courts or media. In the show, this can be seen through families such as the Tyrells, one of the wealthiest families in the kingdom who controls much of the kingdom’s food supply. In reality, we see this through our Oligarchs. AIPAC lobbyists may control policy in the Middle East more than the President does, and oligarch ownership of media controls our perception of reality. What other tools of power might the influential Nobility use to exert influence?
The Military, or “Kingsguard”, is similar to the Nobility in that they can either choose to remain loyal to the King or not. Military coups happen when the Military decides, for benevolent or non-benevolent reasons, that the kingdom can no longer be trusted in the hands of the King. They have the weapons, military force, and in-group loyalty amongst themselves, so if the King issues a command, and the Military collectively chooses to disobey, they may turn their force against the King instead. What physical power then does the King have?
The story also features the “High Sparrow” and other religious players, who are symbolically representative of the Church or Religious Authority. In the 21st century, we believe we are no longer influenced by religious principles. However, they actually continue to play a larger role than you may think. Religion is powerful because it commands deep loyalty and moral authority, which can be exerted over anyone, even the King. This can be through players such as the Vatican and the Pope, but the policing of moral authority, guilt, and religious fervour can also be manipulated by the state, as has been done historically. Groups like Christian Temperance organizations are no longer regularly used as tools of religious power in the modern age, but Religious Authority players can still weaponize other methods of moral policing to exert preferred outcomes. Religion and moralism can be tools of control, and this power struggle is represented in the story with the tension between the High Sparrow, Queen Cersei, and King Tommen.
Varys, “the Spider,” represents the Intelligence player. Varys has “little birds” or informants all over the kingdom who gather and weaponize information. By having the most information at all times, and weaponizing knowledge while operating quietly behind the scenes, Intelligence controls secrets, rumours, and perception, and ensures survival and policy direction through soft power. Real-world parallels include organizations like the CIA, Mossad, and MI6, or shadow diplomats such as Henry Kissinger or the Dulles brothers (they can also be considered Shadowy Advisors). Propaganda is a major tool of Intelligence, so in our modern age, they have infiltrated social media. They may even be reading this essay right now. Hello.
Very importantly, there is also the Iron Bank, which represents our Financial Institutions. Banks fund wars and either keep states afloat or let them collapse. Though many successful banks are technically publicly traded, practically speaking, they are still essentially owned. Key shareholders of major profitable banks like JP Morgan & Chase, the Bank of America, HSBC, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup are for example repeatedly Vanguard, BlackRock, and State Street, companies which mostly own each other. This means that while banks don’t have traditional “owners,” power is still concentrated in the hands of a few management executives like Larry Fink or Tim Buckley. This is not conspiracy, it is structural. In Game of Thrones, even players that hold the Iron Throne must ask the Iron Bank for support to maintain power. So is the King the most powerful player?
Power is consolidated through combinations of players, as factions must ally with each other by necessity. Allegiances, however, are not ironclad. Factions may shift to the opposite of side of the board easily, whenever useful to the player. Baelish is the greatest example of this as a Chaos Agent which makes it difficult for the average person to analyze his actions from the outside. In one instance for example, he aids the mostly benevolent player Sansa Stark escape the oppressive Lannisters. But while Baelish’s action is benevolent, the intention is not, as his intention is to use marriage with Sansa to access the power of her influential family.
This metaphor can be used to better understand some things happening in reality. Consider Trump and those that are recently adapting their rhetoric about Palestine. My impression is that America, the EU, and the Commonwealth are finally trying to distance themselves from Israel because too many people have awoken to their child murder and terrorism. So Canada, France, the UK, Germany, Australia, and the USA have changed their language somewhat regarding Israel (note: concrete action is still desperately needed). It is frankly unlikely that any of these players have just suddenly noticed what Israel is doing after having funded and provided weapons for the entire genocide. They have just been forced to acknowledge that Israel is detrimental to their own power.
And why is it so detrimental after a year and a half of genocide? I believe it is partially because they have been forced to acknowledge the final player. This player is You.
Your role gets little attention from Game of Thrones. You, like me, are a part of the Masses or the Common Folk. Individually, our power is minute. Alone we may as well not exist, so alone is how other players like us, because then we are not a challenge. When united, however, the Masses are the largest group. We are small, but we are many. Our support gives legitimacy to rulers or revolutions. When united, but only when united, can this power hope to compete with any of the above players. The Masses can revolt, riot, or withdraw support, but they must do so mostly together. They must also do so peacefully for the safety of the realm.
The problem is that we are so big that we can be disorganized and are easily fragmented. We are easily manipulated because we have the least powerful tools at our disposal while powerful tools are used against us. This is why so many of the Masses for example still believe Ukraine is a black-and-white war, or don’t truly understand the depravity of the entity that is Israel. Due to a lack of cohesion in knowledge, we are easily turned against each other. This is why you have certain anti-WEF factions being angry at the oppression of globalists while believing Zionist oppression is either not connected or doesn’t affect them. So factions within them continue to call pro-Palestine supporters “Hamas sympathizers,” and thus continue to benefit oppression within the power structure while trying to fight against it. This is fragmentation.
But the Masses should not be underestimated. Israel has been on an unhindered reign of terror against the Palestinians and the rest of the world for decades. But while concrete actions are still needed, leaders are now changing their rhetoric and pissing Israel off by leaving them out of discussions. This is not because they care about Palestine, but because they know the tide has turned, and the Masses now mostly support Palestine more than they support Israel. This has not happened before during our lifetime.
What is happening now in Palestine and many other areas of the world is extremely urgent and extremely dire. We are under attack by our leaders, and Palestine is desperately in need. Amongst many other tragedies, Israel recently killed pediatrician Alaa Al-Najjar’s 9 children in Khan Younis while she was on duty helping other children. They also burned children alive while they were sheltering at Fahmi Al-Jarjawi school. Again, they are burning children alive, with our money, and our weapons. If we are a player in this game, do They or do We get to decide that it continues? In other words, if we are an equal player, why should their will and power be greater than ours?
Like how GOT mostly leaves the Masses out of the story, the players that are more powerful than us individually believe that we, the Masses, are irrelevant. They believed that students would tire of their protests, that our Leaders’ tools of power and false flags could trick us forever. But the Masses are powerful too. We just need strategies to increase that power. This requires a shared vision and goals, effective communication, consciousness raising, a coalition across divides, and a mandatory commitment to nonviolence.
No matter who you are in the world, what our leaders have done has damaged not only other innocents but you and your loved ones. They used your taxes you laboured hard for to not only hurt other people, but prevent these funds from being dedicated to your personal community and family. Our leaders also psychologically manipulated you. They tried to determine your opinions for you, when you are an individual who deserves to make your own decisions. Our leaders don’t care if you live or die if it saves them money.
But here’s something new and exciting: since we live in the information age, the Masses have been given a tool we haven’t had before in history. We get to participate in Intelligence.
Let me give you a demonstration, in another one of my attempts to coalition-build:
Did you hear that the same country that is primarily responsible for funding the genocide in Gaza and leading the manipulation of the West into the proxy war in Ukraine may also have been responsible for another trauma all of the Masses share?
Why are people trying to obtain Ralph Baric’s emails from the University of North Carolina?