Written by: Nadira Ayu Waraputri and Malika Azzahra Alfadien

Dune, the award winning science fiction franchise, may have been written over five decades ago. Yet its popularity regained by the release of the 2021 and 2024 adaptation of the books. As International Relations students, we can decipher messages and hidden IR dynamics that may or may not have been inspired by real-life political events. We can see that Dune captures an almost perfect description of IR events that could be explained by realism theories and concepts.

Waraputri and Alfadien are second-year undergraduate students majoring in International Relations at the University of Indonesia. Both share a strong passion for international relations, with a particular focus on the theories and concepts of realism. In this article, they will explore the film Dune and analyze it through the lens of international relations by examining how it addresses key themes such as the rise of power, balance of power, realpolitik, and imperialism.

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Dune is an American science fiction novel franchise written in 1965 by Frank Herbert. The award-winning books have been adapted to the big screen several times before becoming popular in 2021 through an adaptation by Denis Villeneuve. Starring Zendaya and Timothee Chalamet, the movies were a huge hit at the box office. Being viral on social media, the movies were the talk as viewers waited in anticipation for a sequel later released in 2024.

            Dune follows the story of young Paul Atreides, Son of Leto Atreides, Duke of House Atreides. The story takes place in a distant future where humankind has traveled and conquered every planet in The Known Universe, making the noble houses rulers of each specific planet under the imperial. For instance, The House of Atreides. ruled over Planet Caladan before accepting a request from The Emperor to rule over Planet Arrakis. We later discovered that the request was not a favor, but a trap set out by House Corrino and House Harkonnen. When nighttime in Arrakis came, House Harkonnen attacked the planet, perishing what was left of House Atreides. Unbeknownst to House Harkonnen nor House Corrino, Lady Jessica and young Paul Atreides escaped the attack and went on to live in the desert, fulfilling a prophecy—that one day Paul shall be savior of The Fremen.

A Realist In The Desert

House Atreides may not be recognized as the hegemon, as House Corrino, the ruler of The Known Universe, would fill the highest position within the empire. However, the family has shown their potential within the empire with its strong and advanced military. The House Atreides with its military advantage, was deeply respected amongst other Great Houses. The Great Houses have always looked up to House Atreides for leadership, making House Atreides stronger than ever.

            This has certainly caught the eye of the 81st Padishah Emperor of House Corrino himself, Shaddam IV. Although, The Emperor may not feel so threatened regarding House Atreides’ military advantages, as The Emperor himself possesses an army whose warriors equal ten regular men. This army of warriors is called the Imperial Sardaukar. Not to mention, the possession of nuclear power as a ‘family heirloom,’ inherited from generation to generation. This particular power serves as an assurance for the Great Houses in the event of a war. We later see that House Atreides, like other houses, possesses great nuclear power in the form of atomic nuclear heads. The Emperor’s legitimacy and sovereignty were a unique mixture of military advantages, nuclear power, the Sardaukar, and most importantly, wealth acquired from the spices.

            Now, the spices in Dune play such a significant role. As we understand, the spice was used as ‘some kind of fuel’ and navigation system needed in space travel. Similar to how oil gives power to big countries such as the United States, or how it gives wealth to oil producer countries such as Saudi Arabia, spice is used to gain power and wealth in the world of Dune. This particular spice can only be found in the desert of Planet Arrakis. The desert is inhabitable, with extreme weather and unpredictable terrain. Beyond those challenges, the desert is home to giant worms, native to the dune. Some humans, the Fremen tribe, have successfully learned to live alongside the challenges, including the big-scary-worm, called Shai-Hulud. The Fremen were under a colony led by House Harkonnen, hoping to someday gain their freedom and their planet back. They are considered dangerous as they show relentless rebellion against colonialism. Considering the challenges, the technologies needed, and the dangers one must face to harvest the spices, we understand the high prices of the spice. Now, we understand why control over the spices means wealth and power.

            When House Atreides was given the power to harvest the spices, we could understand how a certain dilemma and insecurity came over The Emperor. For the first time, apart from the military advantages and the legitimacy of other houses, House Atreides now have access to something they never had before, wealth and power. Now, we are not saying House Atreides did not live a prosperous life before, they have been blessed with luscious terrains, mountains, sea, and other natural resources on their home planet. Yet, as mentioned before, spice was the currency, spice was the key, and spice was the standard for wealth and power. And, The Emperor was afraid.

            In the real world, we might align this event with realism concepts such as rising power, balance of power, security dilemma, real politics, and so on. We might say House Corrino as the current hegemon feels threatened by the rising of House Atreides. We might also say the possession of nuclear warheads by the houses is a great example of a security dilemma. Next, we understand that although House Atreides possesses great power, they still have to do what they have to do: bow down to the bigger power. Yet, House Corrino can do what they want to do—this concept we recognize as real politics in realism. Able to do whatever they ought to do, House Corrino intercepts the rising of House Atreides—an example of balance of power. To do so, House Corrino allied itself with House Harkonnen to perish House Atreides—an example of balance of threat.

From Desert to Paradise: Breaking Free from Imperialism

At the very heart of the story, Dune delivers a rather sharp critique of imperialism. As mentioned before, spice serves a very important role in the story. Dune Part Two opens with a quote: “Power over spice is power over all.” This means whoever controls the spice has the power to control the rest of the world. Hence, control over spice means power. This aligns with today’s world where control over economics and resources means power. Countries that chase power, seek to have control of the whole economy. By capitalist logic, when a capitalist actor already has enough control of their own economy, they tend to expand their resources and region to gain even bigger advantages. Dune explores this theme by portraying how the great power fights over spice.

Spice is originally produced on the planet Arrakis. Before spice became a commodity chased by great power, the Fremens, the indigenous people of Arrakis, were the ones to manage spice. They know how to harvest it, process it, and turn it into a product of resources with care. The Fremens know how to use spice as an economic resource while also taking care of the planet. This right was taken out of the Fremens’ hands when the great house began their race over spice. The great house becomes imperialist actors in order to gain control over spice. To understand this, we need to look at the two factors that cause imperialism. The first factor is inadequate resources in their own region. The second factor is the implication of expanding their power in other regions. In other words, capitalist desire drives actors to be imperialist. Great houses in Dune want to expand their economy. Seeing the potential of spice, they race to have control over spice, and by extension, control over the planet Arrakis.

To gain maximum economic advantage, the great houses need to produce spice in large numbers. The Fremens’ way of managing spice contradicts the great houses’ needs. The Fremens manage spice in a way filled with care. The great house, driven by capitalism, can not manage this way of production. All they need is the maximum number of production, regardless of how it is done. Producing spice in large numbers means exploiting spice. To do productions like this, they seek to seize control of the planet and remove the threat from the local people, the Fremen. Therefore, these great houses took over the governmental rights of the planet from the Fremens. To make sure the Fremens don’t threaten their economic production of spice, they oppress the Fremens for decades and deprive them of their culture and home.

The Fremens are pushed from the city of Arrakis to the deep desert. Rather than just depriving the Fremen of their practices, the great houses also tried to trick the Fremen by depriving them of knowledge. The Imperial, with the help of Bene Gesserit, creates a prophecy about a “hero” who will come and liberate the Fremen. This is a trick used by imperialists to keep the colonised from revolting. By this framework, the Atreidies also fall under the category of imperialists of Arrakis. Even if the Atreideis want to work with the Fremens, they still want to commercialize spice from Arrakis. On the other hand, the Fremen, oppressed for decades because of their resources, want to fully liberate themselves and create a “paradise” in Arrakis. Their definition of paradise in Arrakis consists of a green Arrakis, full of nature. To do so, the Fremens seek to destroy the symbol of imperialism in Arrakis: spice. Their dream of liberation lies not in some nature far away, but in just the heart of Arrakis, by breaking free from imperialism to create a paradise.

The Framework that Paul is Fremen’s saviour is a framework created by the imperialist. In order to liberate themselves from imperialism, the Fremen must take charge on their own. They need to destroy, not only the capitalist government but also the reason for imperialism in Arrakis, spice. In his book, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Paulo Freire said “Love is an act of courage, not of fear, love is a commitment to others. No matter where the oppressed are found, the act of love is commitment to their cause–the cause of liberation.” The Framen wanting to make Arrakis a green planet proves that empowerment of a place relies on the value of the indigenous people of the region. The Fremens, with all their care for their people and their planet, seek to liberate Arrakis fully from imperialism by removing spice completely from the equation. No longer taking economic calculations into account, The Fremens’ culture, shaped around their dream of making Arrakis a “paradis” of green planet, relies heavily on their love for the planet. Thus, a revolutionary act to liberate people from imperialism sometimes lies in the act of love.

Conclusion

From the desert in a far, far away galaxy to regions on the earth, from realism to imperialism, Dune successfully mirrors international politics in today’s world by wrapping it in a sharp science-fiction story. The themes of the movies heavily portray how power works in this world and how the chase for power by multiple actors can play out. At its very heart, Dune portrays how imperialism and the chase for capitalistic value will never defeat the value of love that people have for their own nation. Dune works surprisingly well in portraying real life while also showing sharp critiques against power dynamics and imperialist intentions in today’s world.

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References

Barron, Ruby. “Good Colonizer, Bad Colonizer: Dune and the Sixties – Confluence.” Confluence, October 19, 2022. https://confluence.gallatin.nyu.edu/sections/research/good-colonizer-bad-colonizer-dune-and-the-sixties.

Borne, Thiago, and Fernanda Barasuol. Beyond International Relations Theory? The World-Orders of Dune, 2024.

Gronow, Jukka. “Imperialism as the Last Stage of Capitalism.” In On the Formation of Marxism: Karl Kautsky’s Theory of Capitalism, the Marxism of the Second International and Karl Marx’s Critique of Political Economy, 126–33. Brill, 2016. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1163/j.ctt1w8h23p.13.

Loveall, Zach. “‘Dune’ and the Ecology of Freedom.” The Michigan Daily, December 5, 2023. https://www.michigandaily.com/arts/b-side/dune-and-the-ecology-of-freedom/.

Yacine, Barka Rabeh, and Ahmad Y. Majdoubeh. “Reimagining Colonialism: Dune within Postcolonial Science-Fiction.” Theory and Practice in Language Studies 13, no. 2 (February 1, 2023): 501–7. https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.1302.27.