Harry Potter globalism localism

by Travis

I’m going to begin a new Hog’s Head practice of starting each week off with a subject for discussion.  This week – the Olympics and the TriWizard Tournament.  With the Beijing Olympics underway, Potter fans are reminded of the “Olympic” event that is the TriWizard Tournament in Goblet of Fire.  The HP Alliance is noting the parallels along the lines of international cooperation and the Olympics’ theme, “One World, One Dream,” particularly in their call to use this time to raise awareness about Darfur. 

Most definitely, Goblet of Fire, particularly in the character of Dumbledore, emphasizes the need for international cooperation in the fight against evil.  But beyond Book 4, this theme gets little to no attention.  In Deathly Hallows, Voldemort is brought down quite apart from widespread international cooperation.  In reality, he’s brought down by the courageous actions of a few (non-government) individuals. 

In light of this, some questions for discussion:

• What happened to the theme of international cooperation in Harry Potter?
• Does the lack of emphasis on the theme after Book 4 reflect the improbability of international cooperation (“it just ain’t gonna happen”), or does it reflect the Fabian element (“it’s gonna take a long time and a lot of work before that happens”)?
• Is there something discordant about the emphasis on globalization in Book 4 and the clearly localized solution to the Voldemort problem in Book 7?
• Is it simply a plot issue – Voldemort didn’t have time to become an international threat before Harry brought him down?
• Overall – what is message of the Potter books about international cooperation?

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