Third Era Politics of Tamriel, Volume III: Skyrim

The politics of Skyrim were surprisingly stable during the course of the Third Era, taking into account the warlike nature of the Nordic population. It is interesting to note that many of the systems present in the late Third Era are even existing to this day.

HISTORY
The history of the Nordic structure of rule finds its roots in the earliest history of the province, namely in the coming of Ysgramor and his five hundred companions. With the many lords claiming land in their new homeland, it was necessary to split the conquered territories. While the idea was that every chieftain of the Five Hundred was to get a piece of land, in practise this meant that the mightier chieftains with bigger armies managed to claim the lands of smaller tribal heads, reducing the 500 holds to a handful (the exact number of holds shifted from time to time, depending on what was ruled by the Nords at what time).
With the Atmorans now firmly in Skyrim, the need for a central organisation became clear. With constant raids from the various peoples surrounding them, the Nords looked among themselves for leadership. During this struggle for power, two of the most important cities today made claim on the position of High King, namely Windhelm and Solitude. Eventually, Windhelm won this claim, and it became the first capital of the Nordic homeland. It remains strongly associated with the high-kingship, although it lost its position as capital some centuries ago.
While the Nords are still known for their stubbornness, they were quick to join the various instigations of the Cyrodiilic Empire. This gave them a certain prestigious position within the Empire, and the politics of Skyrim became intertwined within those of Cyrodiil and the Empire as a whole.
The Third Empire was probably the one that made best use of this. During the early days of the Third Era, the capital of Skyrim was moved from Windhelm to Solitude, this due to the more pro-Empire position of Solitude’s jarl. From this point forward, the jarl of Solitude was more than often a relative of the Emperor, and the city was often the seat of the High King of Skyrim.

SITUATION
Skyrim was (and still is) divided in holds, areas which hold their own law and criminal court. Each of these holds had their own jarl, who was generally the son or daughter of the previous ruler. Succession was based on a first-born principle.
Each hold experienced relative freedom within Skyrim. While Imperial and provincial law superceded any decision made by a jarl, the latter was rarely enforced much, depending on the will and the strength of the political position of the high king at the time. The lack of upholding of provincial law had partially to do with the process of crowning a new high king. When the position of high king was vacant, the jarls of Skyrim would call together a moot, in which they elected a new high king from among their midst, who would take up the Jagged Crown, as well as fulfil the duties of his own hold. This gave the individual holds a surprising amount of power over province-wide legislation, with the position not falling on a candidate who would not support their sovereignty.
This did not mean that the jarls were all powerful in their own holds. Jarls had to take the will of the locals and other nobility very much in account. This was due to the Nords being quick to resort problems with violence and pride in combat. If someone disagreed with the rule of a jarl, or even with that of the high king themselves, or made claim on the position, they were entitled to a duel. While this traditionally was to the death, yielding was deemed sufficient, and was the common way to end a duel in the late third era. This custom finds its history in the Atmoran days, where chieftains who were unfit for rule were displaced by stronger individuals, who first had to prove their valour and strength against the former ruler. While Skyrim had gone a long way from their traditional roots, the strong combat-focussed attitude of Nordic culture required the jarl or high king to be constantly ready for combat.
Surprising for a people known for their light temper and stubbornness, Skyrim remained relatively free of infighting on a major scale, unlike provinces like Cyrodiil and Hammerfell. The Nords were relatively quick to join the Empire, and during their Imperial days, relatively few conflicts have been fought out between holds or factions.
Another interesting thing about Skyrim is that it is noteworthy in its absence of backstabbing and corruption. While the Nords were not free from misrule from time to time, these problems were often resolved in very open and clear, and to some somewhat barbaric, ways. This is partially the reason that many Nords are still portrayed as having a lack of tact.

CONTEMPORARY DEVELOPMENTS
Like other provinces of the Empire, Skyrim was hit by the Oblivion Crisis. While this caused much unrest in the other provinces, Skyrim was back on its feet relatively fast, and remained supportive of the Empire during the collapse of the Empire in the aftermath of the Crisis. Remaining an Imperial province, Skyrim was relatively calm during an otherwise chaotic time. This helped in restoring some old sores with other areas, as they gave up on their claim of Solstheim in the wake of the Red Year.
Skyrim remained a part of the Empire through the Great War, helping the Empire in holding off the Aldmeri Dominion. Ironically, the end of the Great War saw the start of conflict within Skyrim itself. With the Empire having their hands tied due to the White-Gold Concordat, the Nords felt neglected, and independence movements began to form, the most notable being the Stormcloaks (who want an independent Skyrim), and the Forsworn (who want an independent Reach). Recently, the Stormcloaks have fallen in a civil war over unclarity over the details of the duel between former high king Torygg and Ulfric Stormcloak, the jarl of Windhelm.

The politics of Skyrim are noteworthy in their lack of backroom politics and backstabbing. While this is often seen as somewhat primitive on the Nords behalf, it is also a somewhat respectable side to an otherwise hard form of politics.