Guide to the Politics of Dune

20 Oct 2022

Dune is considered to be one of the defining series of modern science fiction. Highly regarded, and rightfully so, to be one of the Classics of modern science fiction.

A universe filled with political intrigue, questions of religion, legitimacy of the prophet, leaders, the role of technology (particularly so called “Thinking Machines”) in society, and the structure of society as a whole.

I hope in this article I can give you a simple guide to the major factions that plays a role in the Dune universe, salute!

Keep in mind that this article mainly talks about the first three books as I havent gotten around finishing the sequels…

CHOAM (Combine Honnete Over Advancer Mercantiles)

CHOAM Flag

CHOAM (Combine Honnete Over Advancer Mercantiles) comes from multiple ancient Terran languages, roughly translates to “Honorable Union for the Advancement of Greater Trade”. An economic cartel within the imperium that virtually holds a monopoly on all economic affairs of the imperium, from simple foods to spice to weaponry.

Though it relies heavily on the Spacing Guild to transport all it’s goods and services across the imperium, there is no doubt that CHOAM is one of the strongest (arguably THE strongest) faction in the universe, with their monopoly on all economic life of the imperium, giving whoever holds controls of CHOAM untold riches that would even make the Padishah Emperor look in jealousy.

CHOAM poster for spice production

CHOAM functions as a public company, meaning that the largest share holders of the company holds directorships, and the largest holder is the administrative head of the company. The corporation’s management and directorships is held by the Padishah Emperor and the Landsraad (with the Spacing Guild and Bene Gesserit holding a ghost share).

The Padishah Emperor being the largest holder of the imperium’s economy, holds the largest share of the company’s share and is the administrative head of the company. With the rest of the shares held by the Great and Minor houses of the imperium Landsraad.

CHOAM gives an interesting insight in how important economic power can be in gaining political power, resembling that of our own mercantile era of merchant companies or republics, with the likes of VOC and Venice.

Landsraad

Landsraad Hall — storyboard for Jodorowsky’s Dune

The Landsraad is a representative body of all the Great and Minor houses of the imperium, though founded long before the Butlerian Jihad with its rise to prominence during the early days of the Corrino Empire. Also sometimes called the Landsraad league, it held influence over more than 13,300 worlds of the imperium.

Ruled by the High Council, the inner circle of the Landsraad which presides over disputes between the houses which even the emperor has to answer to.

House Corrino coat-of-arms

The Landsraad works by allocating 1000 votes in total

• 100 shared for the Imperial House
• 100 for the Spacing Guild
• 400 for the Great Houses
• and 400 votes for the Minor Houses

The head of the imperium, gains an additional 100 votes to the votes he gets from being in the imperial house. The 400 votes allocated to the great houses based on their ranking by the Spacing Guild among each other. For the Minor Houses, every representative of each special region got a vote share.

The Landsraad shows the unique universe of Dune, a highly advanced interstellar civilization but still relies on what we would consider to be a backward feudal structure.

Spacing Guild

House Corrino coat-of-arms

Also called “The Guild of Navigators”, is an interstellar shipping, trade, and banking organization which holds a monopoly on interstellar travel. Though one would make the assumption of thinking they are similar to CHOAM for their focus on economic affairs, particularly interstellar travel, The Spacing Guild in actuality works more like the Bene Gesserit.

A largely secretive mental-physical training school established after the Butlerian Jihad, alongside the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood. The Spacing Guild use spice and mental training to navigate “folded space” to instantaneously go from systems to systems safely with their enormous Heighliner Starships.

Spacing Guild Emblem

Perhaps the most distinct character of the Spacing Guild, and the series as a whole is the Guild Navigators. Barely human, special navigators that is used by the guild to traverse folded space. Forever entombed in what I can best describe as “a giant tank of spice gas, floating effortlessly within, with webbed feet and hands and elongated foreheads”.

Though their powerful influence is no doubt enormous within the very fabric of the imperium, their dependency on spice has proven to be a weak point within the security of their interest. Threatened by Paul Atreides during the Arrakis Affair which resulted in the ascendency of Paul into the Imperial Throne, and the gradual decline of the spacing guild.

The Spacing Guild is one of the most interesting faction within the Dune universe, it was my first taste of how bizarre the universe can get, what started off as a “feudal politics on space”, reading for the first time how this “giant infant baby-fish hybrid floating in a giant tank of spice gas and having frequent spice orgies”, quickly made me remember that I was reading a science fiction novel.

Bene Gesserit Order

Bene Gesserit concept art for the 2021 Dune film adaptation

Often simplified to just Bene Gesserit or The Sisterhood. The extremely exclusive, ancient, secretive, all female order of highly trained pseudo-religious cult that aims to guide humanity to a greater destiny through what they call the “Kwisatz Haderach” or chosen one.

Arose in the turmoil that followed the Butlerian Jihad, quickly established themselves as an influential political force within the imperium. Widely regarded as “witches” or “sorceresses”, there is a certain level of distrust and fear when people talk of the Bene Gesserit, especially the noble houses as the Bene Gesserit’s true allegiance is always to themselves and their collective goal.

For millenia, the Bene Gesserit exercise its power in the shadows of the imperium. Through the breeding programs, agents within the imperial court and Great Houses. As the skills of a Bene Gesserit is as desirable as an alliance with the Sisterhood itself, they are able to school women from the great houses, and even install their agents as wives and concubines for their use.

House Corrino coat-of-arms

The Bene Gesserit schools were taught to maximize the physical and mental potential of humanity. As a result, Bene Gesserit adepts posses abilities that could not be rivaled by anyone in the known universe, such as their martial arts technique of the “Weirding Way” that only the near mythic warriors of the Imperial Sardaukar and the Fremen could rival.

The Bene Gesserit is the most feared faction in the universe, with agents on every possible position, a near mystic set of skills, and most importantly, a clear and precise end goal which they will do anything to achieve.

Imperial Throne

Bene Gesserit in the 1984 Dune movie adaptation

And lastly of course, the most powerful single figure in the imperium, The Emperor. Though theoretically the emperor shares power with the Landsraad, the emperor still holds virtually supreme power over the imperium.

With the emperor holding the single largest voting share in the Landsraad, and most importantly owning Arrakis, having a hold on the home planet of the sandworms and melange. The most crucial commodity in the known universe, made the emperor the single most powerful member of the Landsraad, and the universe as a whole.

God Emperor Leto Atreides II

For thousands of years the imperium was ruled by House Corrino, gained from the Battle of Corrin. House Corrino ascended to the throne of the imperium, and not until Paul Atreides overthrew Padishah Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV during the Arrakis Affair and replaced the millenia old royal family and brought forward a new age to the imperium.

The Imperial Throne is what the whole society of Dune revolves around, with the destruction of thinking machines, and subsequent reshaping of society, human civilization needed a strong figure to keep the unity of humanity from chaos and destruction.

Conclusion

The universe of Dune is an all encompassing complex interstellar society, with notes within notes within notes. And this article cannot do the beauty and complexity of this wonderful universe that has been written by Frank Herbert any justice.

But I hope this article can be a good introduction, which to me, is one of the most interesting aspect of the universe. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!.

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