Hey everyone, welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory.
Today, we’re going to be discussing Voldemort, the wizarding war, and the magical community
in the REST of the world.
Voldemort was, perhaps, the most powerful dark wizard in the history of the wizarding
world…
He possessed an almost unbound mastery of magic.
In one on one combat, he was able to effortlessly slice an opponent’s throat without uttering
a word, and when his own mortality was put to test, he could evade death time and time
again.
So… if Voldemort was such a menace, why didn’t other heroic wizards and witches
from the international wizarding community volunteer to help fight against him?
During that final, terrifying year of the Second Wizarding war, why didn’t any other
countries try to help?
Where were the powerful sorcerers from Mahoutokoro in Japan?
Or the masters of wandless magic from Uagadou in Uganda?
There were at least eleven wizarding schools in the world at the time, and dozens of magical
governments… and each one decided to leave the defense of Britain to a teenager named
Harry Potter, and his terrified… and traumatized…
classmates.
Why didn’t anyone else help?
Well, today, we’re going to try to answer these questions, and more…
They Didn’t Know
This isn’t the best excuse, but it certainly would make sense.
Throughout the Second Wizarding War, and the years that preceded it, Lord Voldemort and
his loyal Death Eaters tried their best to fight in the shadows.
Having learned their lesson from their first failed campaign against the Ministry of Magic
in the 1970’s and 80’s,, Voldemort and his allies knew that their best chance at
success was by placing double agents within the Ministry itself.
And if Ministry staff didn’t want to work for Voldemort out of their own volition, then
the dark wizard was more than happy to cast the Imperius Curse on them, and control their
every move through dark magic.
If you think about Voldemort’s takeover of the Ministry of Magic, in the final years
of the war, this easily explains why other countries were unaware.
But if we turn our attention to those governments’ domestic issues, we can find even more reasons.
As you might have imagined, almost every government had its own Muggle government, and then a
separate, corresponding magical government.
With places like the U.K. and the US, these dual governments are pretty easy to see, since
we’ve encountered them in film and books.
There are over 190 muggle countries in the world, but actually, in the wizarding community,
some of the magical governments don’t keep the same borders as their Muggle counterparts.
In regards to their magical government, some countries actually have entirely different
borders… which makes sense.
After centuries of warfare, European countries gained and lost territory fairly often, which
was something their local wizarding communities often chose to ignore.
The changing borders of their Muggle nationstates were only an annoyance for the Wizards, who
were content to keep their traditional holdings….
Which means there might have been even more magical ministries than muggle congresses.
Now, you might be wondering what does that have to do with Voldemort?
Well, as you can see…
there were over a hundred other wizarding governments, and they had their own domestic
issues to deal with.
There were likely many other pressing matters within each and every country that made up
the International Confederation of Wizards.
And maybe, just like Voldemort’s campaign against the British Ministry of Magic, many
other countries might have been facing their own Civil Wars.
Even if they had heard the whispers of Voldemort’s return, they simply didn’t have the power
to investigate it further.
Voldemort Wasn’t an International Threat
Even though Lord Voldemort was a terrible threat to the British Ministry of Magic, he
might not have been a worthy opponent for other countries.
Even during the first Wizarding War, when Voldemort led his campaigns against British
wizards and witches, the International Confederation of Wizards didn’t form any meaningful position
against him.
As the wizarding world’s version of the United Nations, the International Confederation
of Wizards largest contribution to the wizarding world was to keep their people safe.
For most of recorded history, that meant creating and agreeing to laws that kept their true
powers hidden from the Muggle populace.
But, just like the United Nations, the International Confederation of Wizards also was responsible
for resolving disputes between its member states.
So, if Voldemort were to assume power in Britain, and then turn his attention towards other
countries to conquer, it would fall to the International Confederation of Wizards to
stop him.
But, according to the few records we have, the International organization never even
convened a committee, in order to discuss a concerted defense strategy in case Voldemort
crossed the English Channel.
It Was a Domestic Affair
If you close your eyes, spin a globe, and randomly point your finger at a country, you’d
have a 9% chance of landing on one that is currently fighting in a Civil War.
And even though we don’t have a complete list of historical records from the international
wizarding world, it’s not hard to imagine that civil wars and internal strife were all
too common amongst wizards and witches as well.
When it comes to Muggles, many countries often took a non-interventionist approach.
Even though civil wars and strife led to inconceivable suffering and bloodshed, most Civil Wars were
allowed to proceed without interference from neighboring states.
And the reason was simple… trying to help only made matters worse: worse for the neighboring
states, and often, worse for the country that was plunged into the Civil War.
And that non-interventionist philosophy was even stronger amongst wizarding governments.
The Magical Congress of the United States was one of the most isolationist regimes in
the entire world, but its values were shared amongst most others.
They simply wanted to protect their own people from Muggle persecution, and didn’t want
to risk their safety by openly supporting, or challenging, warring parties halfway around
the world.
Hope It Didn’t Spread (Appeasement)
If international wizarding communities didn’t intervene in Britain because they thought
it wasn’t any of their business, then they must have hoped for one thing: that Voldemort’s
greed didn’t extend to their country.
If they were able to appease Voldemort and his Death Eaters, then the international wizarding
community might be able to avoid open war… which was always what they feared the most.
War between wizards was catastrophic.
It was not only tragic, for the amount of lives lost in the conflicts… but it also
presented a unique challenge: the open conflict threatened to reveal the wizarding world to
Muggles.
Perhaps foreign governments like the Ministère des Affaires Magiques de la France and the
Magical Congress of the United States of America knew of Voldemort’s return, and had agreed
to not intervene, if the Dark Lord kept his sights on only Britain.
Without any proof, it’s hard to guess at how likely this policy of appeasement was.
Even if there were no formal conferences between Death Eaters and foreign delegations, they
must have had some sort of contact with each other.
Although wizarding governments didn’t like to intervene in the affairs of others, they
still needed to keep a close eye on international events… and Voldemort’s second rise was
certainly something to watch.
They Supported Voldemort
There’s one potential reason that we’ve yet to mention… and it might be the most
controversial.
Other countries might have actually supported Voldemort’s position.
When we look back at the history of the wizarding community in Britain, we’ll find a strange
tradition.
Although many of their constituents prided themselves on being pure-bloods… the leaders
of the wizarding world actually didn't care that much about heritage.
During the founding of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, all four founders
initially agreed to let half-bloods and muggle borns enroll in their school.
In fact, when Salazar Slytherin later changed his mind, and wanted to ban all but pure-bloods
from attending, the other three founders refused to consent.
As you can see, from some of its earliest history, the British wizarding world was fairly
progressive…
at least, compared to surrounding nations.
Since we know so much about the history of wizards and witches in England, calling the
British magical community progressive might sound strange… especially considering their
treatment of goblins.
But when we extend our look to the more ethnically homogenous countries in Central Europe, the
Middle-East, and Asia… their policies were far more conservative, and Voldemort’s position
might not have actually been so unconventional.
If we just look at the Muggle government of Japan, we can find numerous examples of the
hardships that non-ethnic Japanese citizens face.
And interestingly, treating citizens of varying ethnicities with equal rights isn’t a great
priority… or even legally protected.
If we apply that same sense of ethno-national pride to the wizarding community, then the
students and graduates of Mahoutokoro, the wizarding school of Japan, might not actually
see the big fuss about Voldemort.
To them, and many other countries around the world, pure-blood supremacy might have been
normal.
Conclusion
In the end, we might never know the real reason that the international wizarding community
failed to help Harry Potter and his allies.
For my money, I’d bet it’s an equal mix of all of these theories.
Many of the countries might not have seen what the big fuss was about, and others might
have simply not wanted to involve themselves in a Civil War.
Add to that Voldemort’s expert coup of the Ministry of Magic, and foreign Ministries
could have claimed ignorance to Voldemort’s rise… even though they could probably tell
that something was amiss.
And that’s it for this video!
What do you think?
Leave a comment down below!
Until next time
Remember
It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live