Democracy

New Dinobots, New Danger!

Democracy is a form of government in which all participants have equal vote on decisions that affect the group. Democracy does not appear to have a prominent place in Transformers society, as the vast majority of their leaders and policy appear to be decided on either by the departing previous leader, the interpreted will of the Matrix, or a High Council. (It is unknown whether any High Council is elected into office, and most known members seem to serve for millions of years, until assassination.) The specter of perpetual war looms large, lending itself to a state of global martial law on Cybertron.

Examples of democracy in Transformers fiction

Marvel Comics continuity

• The earliest mention of a vote came from, of all places, Starscream. When criticising Megatron's strategy in "The Enemy Within!", he suggests they put it to a vote. Even though Megatron ignores this, Rumble darkly matters that they should have been allowed to vote: this never comes up again and seems a sign of how discontented they are with Megatron's plans at the time.

• Optimus Prime explains to Jetfire the terms of his leadership of the Autobots. He states that if the Autobots wish him to step down, he will. It is also their right to leave individually. Though Optimus Prime was appointed to Autobot Commander by Emirate Xaaron, And There Shall Come...a Leader! he suggests that it is the will of the people that keeps him there, and he would step down if asked. It's not discussed here if this is a real, enforceable policy or just Prime being a nice guy, Rock and Roll-Out! but later on we discover that a badly-performing Autobot leader can be stripped of command under the Crisis Act. As Kup, not that high-ranking a figure, was the one threatening to invoke it, it would seem the Act is open to anyone. The Pri¢e of Life!

So the council of peers is made up of three dudes born on Earth, two guys fresh off the space bridge from Cybertron, and... Ratchet. Well, okay, it's not like anyone actually cares about Gears's opinions.

• When Optimus Prime dies in battle, the Autobots must select a new leader. The seven Autobots who held a "position of authority" (Perceptor, Jetfire, Blaster, Hot Spot, Silverbolt, Omega Supreme, and Ratchet) hold a private conference to nominate a replacement. This practice is not strictly democratic, as not every Autobot present was eligible to participate. If the "positions of authority" were electable positions themselves, the conference could be categorized as republican. Grimlock was also eligible to participate, as leader of the Dinobots, but he showed up late only to tell everyone they were stupid and weak, that Optimus Prime was a loser, and to nominate himself. The conference eventually decided on Grimlock, of course. King of the Hill!

Less like election, more like mob rule.

• During the disastrous rule of Grimlock, the entirety of the Earthbound Autobots (save the Dinobots, of course), rallied together to show their support for Blaster as his replacement. This enthusiasm for regime change disappeared once Blaster turned himself in to Grimlock to guarantee the safe release of the Spacehiker children. It is perhaps telling that the Autobots will do nothing to better themselves in the absence of a strong leader. Spacehikers! They didn't use the Crisis Act because Furman made it up later for unknown reasons, possibly due to a lack of a rallying figure or possibly for fear of Grimlock's loyal Dinobots.

• When Scorponok was losing control of the Decepticons, one bellowed "who elected you anyway?". So at least some Decepticons like the concept of democracy. The Primal Scream

The Transformers cartoon

If U.S. elections were like this, it would be a lot more interesting!

• After suffering heavy losses in the battle for Autobot City, the Decepticons take a vote on whether or not to jettison their damaged comrades in order to make it back to Cybertron. The results of the vote are split entirely along the boundaries of who would be personally affected by this decision, but the damaged are outnumbered and tossed into space. (Unsurprisingly, the Decepticons do not appear to have any mechanism to protect the rights of the minority). After this, the Decepticons hold a debate as to who should succeed the ejected Megatron as leader of the Decepticons. This is handled by a more traditional Decepticon process: beat the slag out of each other. The Transformers: The Movie

• Later, the Decepticons take a vote as to whether or not they should ally themselves with the Quintessons. Five Faces of Darkness

• When the Decepticons invaded Paradron, one native claimed that, since their society was a democracy, they didn't have to obey the Decepticons' commands. As it turns out, Cyclonus and Scourge didn't particularly care how Paradron's government worked. Fight or Flee

Beast Wars cartoon continuity

Every political discussion during an election, ever.

• When Optimus Primal goes missing, a secret ballot is cast among the four remaining Maximals. According to Rhinox, voting in this manner is a Maximal tradition. The vote results in a tie; whether Maximals in general can't break a tie or if this is just this one incident (there were only four of them on the whole planet) is unknown. Dinobot laughs at the process' revealed faults and calls it "your democracy", indicating that the Predacons have no democratic system (what a shock!). Optimus Primal was able to contact them soon after, and he declared Rattrap the leader in his absence. Chain of Command

Armada cartoon

Slow reflexes? You too can be Autobot leader.

• After Optimus Prime dies in battle, Hot Shot is given Autobot leadership because the other Autobots think that is what Optimus Prime would have wanted. The deal is sealed when he doesn't flinch when Scavenger throws a punch at him. Remorse

• No, seriously.

2005 IDW continuity

• The New Senate was replaced by the Grand Convocation, in which the leaders of influential groups like the Circle of Light and the Engineering Guild worked with Optimus Prime to run the planet. If these leaders were themselves elected, this would be a form of republican government. Derelicts After it fell, the planet was governed by the Conclave of Representatives which at least sounds like it's elected. Primacy #1

• The Wreckers had a low-level form of democracy: they had to vote unanimously for any new member. This could be overridden by High Command. Last Stand of the Wreckers #3

• When Optimus Prime surrendered himself to Skywatch, the Earth-stranded Autobots decided to vote on their new commanding officer rather than following the chain of command. This had not been a normal policy before, and appears to be something they had recently adopted. In the end, Bumblebee won. New Arrivals, Old Encounters He was then rarely, if ever, respected as leader even though he had a mandate.

• Once the war had ended, Metalhawk and Starscream, both unelected faction leaders (civilian and Decepticon), began pushing for a free election to determine a new Cybertronian government. Dinobot Hunt The formal vote was never held but Starscream came to power on the back of informal democracy, when most of the Transformers agreed with his call to cast out all factions and appointed him as their leader. Heavy Is the Head He would repeatedly use this mandate as a reason for why everyone should listen to him.

• Caminus is ruled by the elected Forgefire Parliament but view this as a messy compromise as they can't be ruled by the infallible, divine authority of a Prime. They find it hard to understand why others find it disturbing they'd automatically do whatever Optimus wanted and their church leader, the Mistress of Flame, was herself disturbed that Optimus would follow an elected government. The Sum and Its Parts The Possible Light

• The Council of Worlds has a collective vote on matters relating to the interaction and integration of the Transformer colonies.

Prime cartoon

• The Decepticon troops on the Nemesis held a vote on whether or not Megatron should get specialist treatment, overruling the wishes of the acting-commander. Deus ex Machina

2019 IDW continuity

• The Senate operated on democratic principles, requiring sufficient votes from the Senators to pass acts. Orion Pax: Free Fall
• While the other Cybertronian colonies were democracies, a notable exception was Velocitron, whose First Senator was whomever won the Speedia. Tread & Circuits Part 1

Humans

"Thank you, citizens, for giving me 95% of the vote!"

Humans are also known for having systems of democracy:

• The United States of America elect a President.
• Japan has a Prime Minister.
• The United Kingdom also has a Prime Minister, one of whom has spoken of a desire to consult with Optimus Prime. This has made him a Decepticon target. #24's Star Screams Their political parties have elections too, with the 1990 Tory one akin to the battles over the Marvel UK letters page. #308 Darn 'n' Blast It
• The Socialist Democratic Federated Republic of Carbombya makes claim to being democratic, but really isn't.
• Canada has a Prime Minister.