Valruzia

[Aethan]

The complicated relationship between Valruzians and hyperleaderships

More than just ideologies, Valruzian citizens seem to restort to charismatic figures to rely on every time they are given the chance

July 5711

From top to bottom, left to right: Karolina Pietrzyk and Urszula Pawlik, Presidents of Valruzia; Iwan Nowik, Szczepan Morawski and Szymon Nowik, Chancellor and Dictator of Valruzia

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From the ashes of the defunct Morawski regim, officially the Valruzian Unitary State, under the leadership of general Szczepan Morawski, Valruzians saw a bright future of opportunities right before their eyes. But just as the new modern and democratic Valruzia was taking its first steps, two key figures emerged to lead the nation: then-Chancellor Szymon Nowik and then-President Karolina Pietrzyk. From that moment, it still looked like even if Valruzians had gotten out of one dictatorship, they still felt the need for strong figures to lead them out of the dark. 

Valruzia stands therefore as a unique case study in modern political science. Following the collapse of Szczepan Morawski’s regime, classical theory suggested that the nation would seek refuge in bureaucracy and the separation of powers to avoid the traumas of the past. However, Valruzians have done quite the opposite: they have used their newly won freedom to erect a series of "hyper-leaderships" that, in practice, often carry more weight than the very laws they represent. And those leaders that fail to be up for the challenge – Faustyna Sabala, Zuzanna Kosowska or Marzel Zagórski, with perhaps the honorable exception of Krystian Barela as an outlier – are soon forgotten or lose their position quickly.

The ghost of the Unitary State

To understand the current "cult of will", one must look at the vacuum left by the Morawski regime. For decades, the Valruzian Unitary State operated under a vertical, absolute authority. When that structure crumbled, it did not leave behind a desire for horizontal governance, but rather a "leadership-shaped hole" in the national psyche. The transition didn't teach Valruzians to place trust in intense bureaucract, but rather to look for a different kind of titan, one who could wield the same decisive power as the old dictator, but for the sake of progress and equity, and because people actually decided to put them where they stand.

The Paradox of Liberty

Why does a people that suffered under the boot of a dictator voluntarily choose figures who eclipse the system? The answer seems to lie in a deep-seated distrust of "the abstract". For the Valruzian citizen, a law is a piece of paper, but a leader is a living promise.

From the genesis of this democracy, the figure of Karolina Pietrzyk set the standard. Her legitimacy did not emanate solely from the ballot box that elected her for the office, but from her physical body defying the 5627 coup. Valruzia did not vote for an economic program in 5629; it voted for the woman who refused to kneel, and that is what brought her the necessary background. This was perhaps the first symptom of the "cult of will": the conviction that only an unbreakable character can protect freedom. Pietrzyk’s presidency proved that in Valruzia, the constitution is only as strong as the person holding the pen to sanction it.

The case of Szymon Nowik probably takes this paradox to the extreme. Under his mandate, Valruzian politics ceased to be a struggle of acronyms and became a state of mind. When 1 in every 8 male children is named after the Chancellor, we are no longer talking about simply a successful administration, but a collective adoption of a person, a paternal figure for all of some kind.

Nowik did not just get into office to "manage" Valruzia; in some ways, he "sculpted" it. The creation of state-owned enterprises were not seen as technical decisions, but as extensions of his personal will for sovereignty. The system allowed a single man to dictate the rhythm of the nation for over twenty-five years, not due to a lack of democratic mechanisms, but because the electorate used those mechanisms to shield his permanence. He became a figure that one could relate to, that everyday Valruzians would look up and say "he is just like me", a complete difference from what people understand as "the political class".

This trend then radicalized with Iwan Nowik, his adoptive son. Upon reaching more than half of the total voting share in 5675, the system of checks and balances becomes, in practice, irrelevant. When a leader possesses such a popular mandate, the line between the "will of the people" and the "will of the leader" disappears.

Iwan’s style — more aggressive and ideologically rigid than his father's — tested the limits of democratic patience. Yet, the public response was of celebration. By lowering the voting age and capping wages, Iwan synchronized the state's clock with his own heartbeat. Is it possible to dissent against a man who embodies exactly half of the population? In Valruzia, dissent often feels like a betrayal of the national momentum.

Even the figure of Urszula Pawlik, who came to power with a discourse of "limits" and "institutional calm", falls into the same net. Although she herself warns that the people had "too high expectations" of the office, she ends up exercising a symbolic power that borders on the monarchical, as seen in her unilateral dealings with Kalistan. The decision to grant a palace in Gryfit to a foreign sovereign shows that even a "constitutionalist" leader in Valruzia eventually resorts to the exercise of personal prestige to conduct statecraft. In Valruzia, even one who attempts to be a "neutral arbitrator" ends up being swept into the mystique of the providential figure. One Valruzian philosopher and political writer summarized it in a single sentence: 

"Valruzian democracy is not a system of laws that men follow, but a system of men in whom the laws trust"

One cannot ignore the role of image in this cult. From Pietrzyk to the Nowiks of Pawlik, Valruzian leaders are expected to be superhuman. They are expected to become protagonists in a national epic. This aesthetic requirement creates a barrier for the "ordinary" politician. In the Valruzian mind, if a leader doesn't possess an extraordinary aura, they are perceived as incapable of defending the nation's interests.

Valruzia has built one of the most vibrant and socially advanced democracies in the region, but it has done so on the shoulders of giants. The Valruzian Paradox of Liberty is that they have used their vote to create leaders so strong that the system seems incapable of functioning without them. Thus, the Valruzian political system is unique, not because of its format but because its members. It is different from Kalistan, where the supreme figure, its Emperor – or Empress – has the last say; nor it is equal to a fully democratic system where usually, every two mandates or 8-10 years a new leader emerges and there is a typical alternation between so-called progressists and so-called conservatives. Instead, Valruzia has a complicated phenomenon to deal with. One that seems that will continue. Now, the election of Dariusz Mech as leader of Sovereign Valruzia points to a continuation of this trend, as we predict he will rise in no time as the new Chancellor for Valruzia.