 |
| The City-State of Zaofu of the Metal Clan. Taken from Google Images. |
I’ve seen a few posts about the Legend of Korra recently and I remembered writing about Zaofu a few months back. I would appreciate your inputs and feedback on this. I did a little research while writing this and the feedback of more knowledgeable people would be really helpful. I actually consulted a law student friend on this but I haven’t gone full scale research on this topic.
The Zaofu Question
My mind went rant-y and crazy when
I tried answering a question posted in Avatar Wiki, a wiki website concerning
itself with the Avatar franchise containing articles about the Legend of Aang,
Legend of Korra and everything in between and beyond. The question was: “Do you
think Suyin will accept Wu's plan for democratic Earth states?” by Gilgamesh777
of the Avatar Wiki. I couldn’t post my lengthy reply in the wiki somehow, so I
decided to post it here.
A supporting statement even
followed the main question:
“At the end of Lok, Wu stated he
intended to abolish the EK monarchy in favor of independent states with elected
leaders. However, do you think Suyin would step down so an elected individual
could run her city, or at the very least submit to the elected leader of the
state Zaofu is located in (as it has been shown not to obey the monarchy in the
past)?”
Yes, I overthought about a
fictional animated series’ state of politics. Yes, I overthought about the
state of affairs of a series that ended almost three years ago. To quote Avatar
Korra, “deal with it!”
My elaborated answer is as follows:
Most likely Suyin Beifong will
agree to it, in terms of all the other Earth Kingdom States. However, will she
allow this to happen in her own city-state of Zaofu? At some level she might
agree to this but we have to tackle her views based on what was presented in
the series and the unique state of Zaofu.
I. Suyin Beifong's views
She did speak out against the old
system of the Earth Kingdom, saying that the Earth Queen should "step
aside" (Episode, The Metal Clan). However she also showed her disagreement
with the imposition of her political views upon the entire Earth Kingdom
through force, in contrast to Kuvira. This gives me the impression that goes
along the lines of continuing the old system through new leaders, as with
installing King Wu, or as far as she prefers a peaceful transition out of the
old Earth Kingdom Monarchy, to a new kind of government. What kind of government
that would be, she is not shown to be clear on that. She might tend to have the
other States decide for themselves as to what kind of government they want to
have. If elections are to occur in all States of the Earth Kingdom that would
mean Zaofu would tend to follow this. Would Suyin allow this? This would be a
very important question to Suyin as it will directly affect her and Zaofu's
status.
II. Zaofu as both city-state and private property
Effectively, Suyin is again the
Matriarch of Zaofu after the fall of the Earth Empire. Suyin might agree to the
new system that King Wu and Avatar Korra might establish but as for the fate of
Zaofu itself, it really depends on many factors: Suyin herself, the Avatar and
the about-to-abdicate King, the people of Zaofu (the Metal Clan), and the
State/s around Zaofu especially the government involved in some capacity in the
selling of the land that became Zaofu to Suyin.
Zaofu, before the fall of the Earth
Queen, was effectively a city-state. It was initially autonomous and
transitioned to a sort of independent status when the Earth Kingdom's central
government fell. Even Kuvira recognizes this in some level when she calls the
people of Zaofu as "citizens of Zaofu" and not rebels or something to
that effect, even affording full citizenship to the people of Zaofu to her
Earth Empire (Episode, Battle of Zaofu). Kuvira recognized their innate
citizenship to the old Earth Kingdom and incorporated them into her new Earth
Empire, the supposed successor state. With the fall of the Earth Empire
however, Zaofu reverts back to Suyin Beifong's Matriarchy. She could allow for
free elections to occur in Zaofu to determine a new government. She might even
run and be elected herself but the fact remains: Suyin Beifong and her successors
have a special claim to Zaofu: Zaofu's land is private property owned by Suyin
Beifong.
Remember that in essence, Zaofu is
a plot of land bought by Suyin and is therefore private property (Episode, The
Metal Clan). It has to be considered though that the private property depends
on how huge the plot of land she bought is; whether Suyin refers only to her
estate in Zaofu or the entirety of Zaofu or even a portion of it. The Earth
Kingdom's successor state/s and/or King Wu, as the head of the central government,
might respect this fact and allow Suyin some freedom, either full or to some
extent. Assuming that the entirety of Zaofu is the land she bought long ago and
also assuming that all parties accept the fact that the land occupied by Zaofu
is indeed Suyin's private property, she will have rights to the land of Zaofu.
However, since Zaofu is also a city-state, this does not mean that the people
are mere settlers or occupants of Suyin's private property. Most of them are
Earth Kingdom citizens and will determine how. It's a really hybrid mix of
private property and a de facto state existing in it.
III. Personal conclusion
In the end, I believe it will be
resolved through a dialogue with King Wu and Avatar Korra, all the States of
the Earth Kingdom, Suyin Beifong, and representatives of Zaofu other than the
Beifongs. Suyin has been presented as “enlightened” (Episode, After All These
Years), innovative and compassionate. The facts above will be considered in
their discussions to bring about a new deal that would be ultimately for the
good of all, Zaofu and the Earth Kingdom States.
