History Main / EmergencyAuthority

-->-- '''Eleanor Iselin''', ''Film/TheManchurianCandidate''

* In ''Film/TheManchurianCandidate'', the conspirators' plan is to assassinate the leading presidential candidate, to provoke a reaction so that, as Eleanor Iselin boasts, "They'll sweep us into the White House with powers that'll make martial law look like anarchy". This is the page quote for this trope.

* On ''Series/{{Babylon 5}}'', the Earth Government under [[PresidentEvil President Clark]] uses fear of alien invasion or infiltration to justify martial law and its progression of power grabs. While the fears are generally unfounded, they used scary footage of Shadow ships (their secret allies), {{False Flag Operation}}s (including the assassination of [[spoiler: the previous president]]), and alleged conspiracy theories such as Sheridan and the Minbari breeding Minbari-human hybrids on the Babylon 5 station to subvert the human race--all in order to build a full-blown Orwellian dictatorship where everyone was paranoid and spying on everyone else, and the government could dispense with its political enemies however it saw fit (this was after Clark had assassinated his predecessor-the death [[MakeItLookLikeAnAccident made to look accidental]]-so he could take power to begin with).

* On ''Series/TheLastShip'', Alisha Granderson's mother, who was previously a minor bureaucrat, ends up as the highest-ranking official in the US government after the Red Plague breaks out. Naturally, the power quickly goes to her head.

* Martial law was invoked a few times in the UsefulNotes/{{Philippines}}' history, the first by Ferdinand Marcos in 1972 (until 1981) which led to thousands of deaths, and the other two lesser-known ones by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2009 at Maguindanao after [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maguindanao_massacre the massacre]] of over 50 people, most of them being journalists, and by Rodrigo Duterte from 2017 to 2019 at the whole island of Mindanao following [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Marawi the siege of the city of Marawi]] by ISIS-affiliated militants.

* Martial law was invoked twice in [[UsefulNotes/{{Philippines}} the Philippines]]' history, the first by Ferdinand Marcos in 1972 (until 1981) which led to thousands of deaths, and the other two lesser-known ones by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2009 at Maguindanao after [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maguindanao_massacre the massacre]] of over 50 people, most of them being journalists, and by Rodrigo Duterte from 2017 to 2019 at the whole island of Mindanao following [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Marawi the siege of the city of Marawi]] by ISIS-affiliated militants.

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': During Volume 7, General James Ironwood has Mantle in an oppressive state due to transferring supplies meant to help the city to Amity Communications Tower which is kept a secret. Because of this, the people of Mantle start seeing him as a dictator keeping them oppressed which eventually lead to riots and Grimm attacks. After Penny Polendina is framed by [[SerialKiller Tyrian Callows]] for murdering Mantle civilians, Ironwood gets mad at the current situation as Winter Schnee states the option to declare martial law to get the job done is still possible. By the end of the Volume when [[BigBad Salem]] announces her arrival and Ironwood chooses to abandon him plan for Amity in favor of saving only Atlas and leaving Mantle to die, he declares martial law to prevent the rest of the Kingdom's council from interfering, soon cementing his new tyrannical outlook by [[MoralEventHorizon gunning down Councilman Sleet in cold blood for questioning him]] in Volume 8.

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': During Volume 7, General James Ironwood has Mantle in an oppressive state due to transferring supplies meant to help the city to Amity Communications Tower which is kept a secret. Because of this, the people of Mantle start seeing him as a dictator keeping them oppressed which eventually lead to riots and Grimm attacks. After Penny Polendina is framed by [[SerialKiller Tyrian Callows]] for murdering Mantle civilians, Ironwood gets mad at the current situation as Winter Schnee states the option to declare martial law to get the job done is still possible. By the end of the Volume when [[BigBad Salem]] announces her arrival and Ironwood chooses to abandon him plan for Amity in favor of saving only Atlas and leaving Mantle to die, he declares martial law to prevent the rest of the Kingdom's council from interfering.

* Germany's constitution under the UsefulNotes/WeimarRepublic included Article 48, which allowed the President to declare a state of emergency, suspend many civil liberties, and even rule by decree for a short time without consulting the German parliament, known as the Reichstag. It was intended to be an emergency measure but was used more and more by President Paul von Hindenburg to conduct routine business. It severely destabilized Germany's democracy and provided the Nazis with a simple tool to establish a dictatorship after UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler became Chancellor in 1933. After the Reichstag Fire, Hitler convinced Hindenburg to issue the Reichstag Fire Decree, which invoked Article 48, just before he had the Enabling Act passed, which allowed his new government to pass laws without needing to go through the Reichstag and soon became the cornerstone of Hitler's new dictatorship. Technically speaking, Hitler never actually abolished the Weimar Constitution; he declared a state of emergency that lasted twelve years.

* Germany's constitution under the UsefulNotes/WeimarRepublic included Article 48, which allowed the President to rule by decree without consulting the Reichstag, Germany's parliament. It was intended to be an emergency measure but was used more and more by President Paul von Hindenburg to conduct routine business. It severely destabilized Germany's democracy and provided ThoseWackyNazis with a simple tool to establish a dictatorship after they took power in 1933. Technically speaking, Hitler never actually abolished the Weimar Constitution; he declared a state of emergency that lasted twelve years.

* In ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'', IronLady Supreme Chancellor Saresh goes JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope in the ''Fallen Empire'' & ''Eternal Throne'' expansions and becomes a PresidentEvil using emergency powers to turn TheRepublic into a PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny forcing through whatever laws suit her interests before she's killed/arrested by the PlayerCharacter.

** The Nemesis expansion allows a Galactic Custodian to initiate a vote to reform the Galactic Community into a Galactic Imperium. This is easiest to do during a crisis where everyone is already looking to the Custodian to solve the problem. This basically allows the player to pull the exact trick Palpatine does in the ''Franchise/StarWars'' prequels to become Emperor.

Realistically speaking, if a single individual gains a set of autocratic authority, they ''will'' abuse it, often prolonging their acquisition of Emergency Powers until further notice. One of the more common ways of doing this would be to declare a "state of emergency" (a government alert that rationalizes the bending or breaking of laws and/or liberties). Note that a state of emergency can be used to suppress internal opposition without having to respect human rights.

Contrast ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem, where the autocrat doesn't even bother with the bureaucracy and rules as he sees fit. SisterTrope to {{Cincinnatus}}, where someone really does give up their Emergency Powers. Related to LetNoCrisisGoToWaste, where something negative is turned positive, and is the ideal (but far rarer) scenario for Emergency Powers. Subtrope of GodzillaThreshold.

* On ''Series/{{Babylon 5}}'', the Earth Government under [[PresidentEvil President Clark]] uses fear of alien invasion or infiltration to justify martial law and its progression of power grabs. While the fears are generally unfounded, they used scary footage of Shadow ships (their secret allies), {{False Flag Operation}}s (including the assassination of [[spoiler: the previous president]]), and alleged UsefulNotes/ConspiracyTheories such as Sheridan and the Minbari breeding Minbari-human hybrids on the Babylon 5 station to subvert the human race--all in order to build a full-blown Orwellian dictatorship where everyone was paranoid and spying on everyone else, and the government could dispense with its political enemies however it saw fit (this was after Clark had assassinated his predecessor-the death [[MakeItLookLikeAnAccident made to look accidental]]-so he could take power to begin with).

* In ''Film/TheManchurianCandidate'', the conspirators' plan is to assassinate the leading presidential candidate, to provoke a reaction that, as Eleanor Iselin boasts, "They'll sweep us into the White House with powers that'll make martial law look like anarchy". This is the page quote for this trope.

* ''Film/DeepImpact'': benign use comes up when the US President reveals the incoming comet to the public. He immediately invokes emergency powers to declare martial law and freeze the economy in an attempt to forestall unrest and profiteering. This is portrayed as a reasonable response on the government's part and there is no indication that the emergency authority remains in effect after the comet crisis is over.

* The ''Series/DoctorWho'' Series 8 finale, "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E12DeathInHeaven Death in Heaven]]", reveals that the governments of Earth have agreed that, in the event of a global invasion or catastrophe, the Doctor is to be made acting President of Earth. To keep the power in check, it's only in effect while he's aboard Boat One, which is rather like the idea of UsefulNotes/AirForceOne.

* During the "Period of mobilization for the suppression of [[USefulNotes/ChineseCivilWar Communist rebellion]]" ranging from 1949 to 1987, UsefulNotes/{{Taiwan}} was under [[RedScare martial law]] due to the "Temporary Provisions Effective During the Period of Communist Rebellion" and the threat the "[[UsefulNotes/ChineseWithChopperSupport Red bandits]]" posed to the island. Naturally, this was also used against non-communist dissent against the regime.

[[folder: Film]]

** UpToEleven: Article 16 of the Constitution gives full powers to the President [[GodzillaThreshold in cases of near destruction of the State]].

** The Galactic Custodian position is this in the Galactic Community (Space United Nations). The Custodian is elected in times of crisis and granted political powers above and beyond even the Galactic Council. However, it is a fixed term, and while it can be extended, that's up to the Community to vote on, not the Custodian.

* ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}'': The Galactic Custodian position is this in the Galactic Community (Space United Nations). The Custodian is elected in times of crisis and granted political powers above and beyond even the Galactic Council. However, it is a fixed term, and while it can be extended, that's up to the Community to vote on, not the Custodian.

* Martial law was invoked twice in [[UsefulNotes/{{Philippines}} the Philippines]]' history, the first by Ferdinand Marcos in 1972 (until 1981) which led to thousands of deaths, and the other a lesser-known one by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2009 at Maguindanao after [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maguindanao_massacre the massacre]] of over 50 people, most of them being journalists.

** In a case that does not involve suspending the writ of habeas corpus, current president Rodrigo Duterte is banking for the legislature to approve emergency powers for him, to solve [[UsefulNotes/{{Manila}} Manila's]] horrendous traffic situation. Another case is Arroyo's declaration of a state of emergency in 2006 after the government claimed that they foiled an alleged coup attempt.