Advice to Sauron after winning the War
Sauron, winning the War of the Ring will be the beginning of many political challenges.
I’m not going to advise you on the ethics of right and wrong. That debate was settled by The War of the Ring. I’m merely going to explain the current political and economic landscape, as I see it.
Widespread famine, ecologically unsustainable industry, weak relations with the remaining factions of middle earth, and a labour shortage in the wake of an over-militarised citizenry, will all need to be addressed once you, the newfound ruler of all the land from Eriador to Mordor, take up your throne.
Even within the military, where the majority of labour skill is concentrated, systemic workplace bullying and lack of mental health resources will present both a stifled transition into peacetime occupations and antisocial behaviour that spills over into the general populace, producing social instability that could deter foreign investment. A lack of external funding would cripple the nation, due to its own lack of a mature domestic economy.
You enjoyed a boost to GDP as Saruman’s cutthroat industrial policies yielded large quantities of commodities, but the aforementioned mistreatment of labourers, combined with ecological negligence demonstrated in the deforestation of the Forest of Fangorn, would not bode well in international relations. Sanctions against carbon intensive activity are severe, presenting an ultimatum between continued isolationist policies and healthy trade with neighbour countries. Though isolationism worked well for you during wartime, it was propped up by the agriculture of annexed states, where poor regulation of farmland has now seen soil quality erode and harvests dwindle in size.
Looking internally, there are various structural instabilities that you will need address. Racial tensions grow between the Uruk-hai orcs and the other breeds. The Uruk-hai have risen to positions of power through a combination of competence and nepotism; the latter of which has left regular orcs feeling disenfranchised in the economy, and spiteful from their lack of opportunity. This corruption cannot easily be quelled, as any perceived crackdown on Uruk-hai relations will be interpreted as a power challenge, and a usurper could rise and claim the thrown in response. With the amount of public dissatisfaction in the current ruler, other factions, like the Black Númenóreans, would likely pick whichever side they thought most likely to win. Unlike in the War of the Ring, if the Black Númenóreans believe their allegiance would swing the outcome of a civil war, they will demand a high price for their steel. Paying off mercenaries in another war, so soon after the last, would leave the economy that follows even worse than it is now; possibly taking us from a recession into a depression.
Looking on the bright side, Middle Earth’s United Lands would unlikely indict you of war crimes, lest they publicly acknowledge the countless refugee orcs that desperately seek asylum in foreign lands. Countries that have signed agreements mandating refugee quotas would want nothing to do with the crisis in Middle Earth, as an influx of asylum seekers would both over-encumber their economies and pose security risks as tens of thousands of orcs are imported, along with their violent, imperialist cultural values. Foreign fears of terrorist attacks, or simply a lack of cultural assimilation, would make it political suicide for any foreign ruler to break the silence on the internal reality of Middle Earth in the wake of the War.
With all that said, there is a long road ahead, but I think that with a can-do attitude, and an ethos that holds the dignity and wellbeing of the citizenry in the highest regard, we can rebuild Middle Earth into the prosperous land it once was, focusing on a bright future, while acknowledging the mistakes of the past.
