History Main / DisasterDemocracy

** [[DeconstructedTrope Deconstructed]] in VideoGame/Fallout4, where different characters will inform you that decades ago, the various settlements of the Commonwealth at the time attempted to form a provisional government, much like the aforementioned New California Republic. But unlike the NCR, the negotiations became a squabbling match that devolved into a shootout. [[CynicismCatalyst The CPG Massacre has left settlements sour to the idea of unifying into the present day.]]

** [[DeconstructedTrope Deconstructed]] in VideoGame/Fallout4, where different characters will inform that decades ago, the various settlements of the Commonwealth at the time attempted to form a provisional government, much like the aforementioned New California Republic. But unlike the NCR, the negotiations became a squabbling match that devolved into a shootout. [[CynicismCatalyst The CPG Massacre has left settlements sour to the idea of unifying into the present day.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersRobotsInDisguise2015'': following the defeat of the false Autobot High Council (who turned out to be Decepticons), Optimus Prime is offered leadership of Cybertron. Considering his HeroicSacrifice in [[WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime]] is what allowed new life to be born on Cybertron and the fact that as one of the Thirteen he's a literal demigod, this is unsurprising. However, he instead installs a temporary council made up of his most trusted subordinates and followers, entrusting them to lead until proper elections can be held. Then he just wants to take a ship and travel the stars for a while, without the ChainsOfCommanding that have weighed him down for most of his life.

This isn't as foolhardy as it seems at first, though it ''can'' potentially doom the survivors. If the group of survivors is small, they may decide that rather than [[DividedWeFall pulling in different directions]], electing a leader will give them better odds of survival. Alternately, they may decide to "[[TheMutiny mutiny]]" against a self imposed leader (or one from their [[StillTheLeader pre-disaster times]]) who hasn't been doing a good job. They may hold an impromptu election with papers and a hat, or it may be as informal as everyone saying "I'm with TheHero". If they're replacing a CommanderContrarian or PointyHairedBoss with an IgnoredExpert or ReasonableAuthorityFigure, they're far likelier to survive. If on the other hand, they boot the latter choices because they [[DeathByPragmatism make pragmatic but unpopular]] choices, expect these voters to meet their doom.

Depending on the implementation, this trope usually helps prove RousseauWasRight-- even at our darkest moments, we can pull together into a democracy instead of devolving into an oppressive autocracy. Of course, since a Disaster Democracy is usually pitted ''against'' an [[HobbesWasRight oppressive autocracy]], it becomes more of a cautionary [[AnAesop aesop]].

[[folder:{{Literature}}]]
* ''Literature/TheRestaurantAtTheEndOfTheUniverse'' subverts and parodies various aspects of this as the Golganfrinchan B Ark crew form committees to make fire, adopt the leaf as currency and then suggest burning down forests to avert inflation, and various others absurdities. But then again their population consists entirely of hair dressers, marketing executives, and telephone sanitizers. [[spoiler: They must have got their act together eventually, because they're [[AncientAstronauts humanity's ancestors]].]] Unless, of course, [[spoiler: the author's point was that we ''haven't'' gotten our act together, even millions of years later.]]

* In Creator/RobertAHeinlein's ''Literature/TunnelInTheSky'' the stranded students' mistake is NOT establishing a democracy but making their government too complicated to suit primitive survival conditions. In another book ''Literature/StarmanJones'' the stranded passengers turned colonists are advised to write out a Mayflower-like compact straight off or they are not likely to survive.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 2}}'' the United States government, which lives inside an abandoned oil rig and is thus called "The Enclave", holds presidential elections just like in the times before the nuclear war. However, it is hinted that there is only one candidate who would rule for years. In any case, only about a thousand people lived on the rig, and so the franchise is miniscule and definitely not representative of the will of the American people.
** In ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'' John Henry Eden didn't even try this and he can be talked into killing himself because of it.
*** Likewise Dave, of the Republic of Dave, asks that you help with the election. Most of the voters (who are all Dave's relatives; it's more of a family homestead than a country) are inclined to vote for Dave, but the player can perform some election fraud to get somebody else elected[[note]]you can get a ''draw'' without fraud, but in that case Dave, in his capacity as the election officer, declares that the incumbent, Dave in the role of president, will remain until the next election[[/note]], causing Dave to throw a hissy fit and leave.
** There's also the New California Republic. Starting out as a small hamlet called Shady Sands, led by WastelandElder Aradesh, by ''Fallout 2'' the Republic holds dominion over a decent chunk of [=SoCal=] and is looking at expanding into the north. By ''[[VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas New Vegas]]'' it has grown exponentially, having taken all of California through aggressive expansion and is looking to colonize [[VivaLasVegas the Mojave Wasteland]].

* ''Videogame/TheNewOrderLastDaysOfEurope:''

[[folder:RealLife]]
* Mere trifles like UsefulNotes/WorldWarII or UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar do not stop the US from holding presidential elections, though in both cases the incumbent was reelected (in the Civil War at least, that was not a foregone conclusion: Lincoln was ''extremely'' unpopular for most of the campaign, until the tide began to turn late in 1864).
** The Confederacy's government during the final days of the Civil War follows this. Jefferson Davis and the remains of his administration fled from city to city with much of their records trying to maintain some semblance of authority until they were finally captured. However, there were two different Confederate Congresses elected, the first being elected in 1861, and the second in 1863 and 1864. Davis had been elected in 1861, and under the Confederate Constitution wasn't up for reelection until 1867 (they had Presidents serve six-year terms). Of course, that didn't happen.

** To explain: the British parliamentary session is required to last up to 5 years, though elections have often been held earlier. An election was due in 1940, but when WWII broke out, elections were suspended, leaving a ten year gap with no elections from 1935-1945 (the longest since the Civil War). The reason this could be done is that in Britain, parliament can basically amend the "constitution" at will. In recent years, signing up to the European Convention of Human Rights has introduced some limitations on this power.
** Considering that all of the three main parties supported Churchill as a war leader, its unlikely an election would have really made all that difference to the political situation.
** One of the larger communal bunkers in London during the Blitz held elections under the command of their most popular resident: a three foot high entertainer. Oddly inspiring in its way.

** Komi is another Russian wasteland democracy, aiming to be even more free in terms of expression and welcoming than Tomsk... with the problem being, they are ''too'' welcoming, and thus the remnants that got kicked out of every other territory for extremism have flocked here. As a result, Komi is an absolute ''clusterfuck'', with huge instability and constant coups coming and going from the Democratic, Communist and Far-Right groups, and can only settle down if one leader manages to hold on for more than two months and clean out the rest. As a result, Komi has the most potential leaders out of any other Russian warlord territory, ranging from some of the very best for Russia (Bukharina's Socialist government, the Democratic leaders even if Stalina's a bit dubious) to the single absolute ''worst'' ([[spoiler:[[TheCaligula Sergei Taboritsky]]'s wild [[DystopiaJustifiesTheMeans Burgundian]] ride to hell]]).

* In Creator/MarvelComics' ''ComicBook/SecretWars'', practically the first thing the heroes do after the Beyonder transports them to Battleworld is to elect a leader (unsurprisingly, it turns out to be ComicBook/CaptainAmerica).

->'''Simon''': Is this what it's going to be like, in a post-apocalyptic scenario? You'll just take charge and start issuing orders?\\
'''Lewis''': Well, I... We're more likely to survive that way, I think.\\
'''Simon''': I don't like your attitude.\\
'''Um_Bongo''': I didn't vote for you!\\
'''Simon''': I didn't vote for you either! Let's have a vote, who wants Lewis to be in charge?\\
'''Duncan''': I do.\\
'''Um_Bongo''': Me.\\
'''Simon''': I do too, actually. It was just the lack of democracy I didn't like.

** The Confederacy's government during the final days of the Civil War follows this. Jefferson Davis and the remains of his administration fled from city to city with much of their records trying to maintain some semblance of authority until they were finally captured. However, there were two different Confederate Congresses elected, the first being elected in 1861, and the second in 1863 and 1864. For reference, as of 2012, the 113th United States Congress sits.

* ''{{Series/Jeremiah}}'': The main character and co. encounter a hidden remnant of the US government in season two. It seems they have kept this going in a bunker, with adults safe from the virus, duly holding Presidential elections each year. However, they turn out to be very dictatorial nonetheless, with the quality of the elections left unclear.

** One of the larger communal bunkers in London during the Blitz held elections under the command of their most popular resident; a three foot high entertainer. Oddly inspiring in its way.
* Averted for military personnel in most captivity situations or where a group is cut off from outside contact for any serious length of time. In such a case, authority automatically goes to the highest ranked line officer or senior enlisted, who has authority over all subordinate military personnel in the group. He can then delegate tasks to certain people, place them in charge of certain areas of responsibility, and so on. The military being what is it, this usually works out rather well for them. Civilians in the captive or disaster-struck group are welcome to take part in the process by taking direction from the officer in charge, or pooling resources and tasks with the military-led group, but it is generally accepted that a civilian will not be placed in charge of the military subgroup as a whole. Unless s/he is already an elected official of some sort, which complicates things a bit.

[[folder: VideoGames]]

** There's also the New California Republic. Starting out as a small hamlet called Shady Sands, led by WastelandElder Aradesh, by ''Fallout2'' the Republic holds dominion over a decent chunk of [=SoCal=] and is looking at expanding into the north. By ''[[VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas New Vegas]]'' it has grown exponentially, having taken all of California through aggressive expansion and is looking to colonize [[VivaLasVegas the Mojave Wasteland]].

[[folder: WebComics]]

*** Likewise Dave, of the Republic of Dave, asks that you help with the election. Most of the voters (who are all Dave's relatives; it's more of a family homestead than a country) are inclined to vote for Dave, but the player can perform some election fraud to get somebody else elected, causing Dave to throw a hissy fit and leave.

** In ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'' [[spoiler:John Henry Eden]] didn't even try this and he can be talked into killing himself because of it.
*** Likewise Dave, of the Republic of Dave, asks that you help with the election. The five voters are inclined to vote for Dave, but the player can perform some election fraud to get somebody else elected, who immediately declares himself dictator for life.
*** [[TakeAThirdOption How about]] [[YouKillItYouBoughtIt The Republic Of Player?]]
*** Or you can rig the election for [[OnlySaneMan Rosie]] to win, since she has a much clearer head than anyone else in the republic.
** There's also the New California Republic.
*** In ''Fallout'' it is neither a Republic nor California, but a small hamlet called Shady Sands, led by WastelandElder Aradesh.
*** In ''Fallout2'' the Republic is in place, holds dominion over a decent chunk of [=SoCal=] and is looking at expanding into Nevada, and is generally well-regarded for hunting down raiders and slavers and providing a modicum of stability.
*** By ''[[VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas New Vegas]]'' it has grown exponentially, having taken all of California through aggressive expansion and is looking to colonise [[VivaLasVegas the Mojave Wasteland]].
*** Generally, its government mostly resembles the United States. However, both Aradesh and his daughter Tandi were presidents-for-life (though they did hold regular and mostly fair elections), and the major reason the presidency never became hereditary is that Tandi's son is thicker than a yard of lard. The legislative branch is openly dominated by business interests, and corruption is a fair bit more common than in the modern day US. Still, it's far better than both the pre-war US government and most contenders in the wasteland.

* In ''ComicBook/InhumansVsXMen'', after the Terrigen cloud is dispersed by Medusa and prevents anymore Inhumans from being created by it, she proceeds to dismantle the monarchy and reorganizes Inhumanity into a democracy.

* ''Literature/TheStand'' has a pretty lengthy scene dealing with this, as the new Boulder residents have their CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming as they vote to reinstate the US Constitution. Then they actually have to get down to the nitty-gritty of running the place and the protagonists ultimately form a ruling council with MagicalNegro Abagail at its head, because she's the reason everyone settled in Boulder in the first place.

[[IThoughtItMeant Not to be confused with]] democracy being portrayed as a disaster itself, which is DemocracyIsBad.

->Once we clean up this mess we're gonna have a town meeting and put his leadership up to vote!
-->-- '''''VideoGame/TheLastOfUs,''''' ''Overheard EnemyChatter from [[IAmAHumanitarian a canniba]]l hunting a 14 year old girl on order from his pedophile leader''

-->-- '''''VideoGame/TheLastOfUs,''''' ''Overheard EnemyChatter from [[IAmAHumanitarian a cannibal hunting a 14 year old girl on order from his pedophile leader''

-->'''Simon''': Is this what it's going to be like, in a post-apocalyptic scenario? You'll just take charge and start issuing orders?
-->'''Lewis''': Well, I... We're more likely to survive that way, I think.
-->'''Simon''': I don't like your attitude.
-->'''Um_Bongo''': I didn't vote for you!
-->'''Simon''': I didn't vote for you either! Let's have a vote, who wants Lewis to be in charge?
-->'''Duncan''': I do.
-->'''Um_Bongo''': Me.
-->'''Simon''': I do too, actually. It was just the lack of democracy I didn't like.

-->'''Um_Bongo''': [[I didn't vote for you!]]