The Barony of Harkonnen is a mammoth, safe nation, ruled by Baron Vladimir Harkonnen with an iron fist, and remarkable for its compulsory military service, irreverence towards religion, and restrictive gun laws. The hard-nosed, cynical population of 9.018 billion Harkonnens are kept under strict control by the oppressive government, which measures its success by the nation's GDP and refers to individual citizens as "human resources."

The medium-sized, moralistic, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Law & Order, and Healthcare. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Giedi Prime. The average income tax rate is 36.1%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The large but inefficient Harkonnen economy, worth 318 trillion solaris a year, is led by the Automobile Manufacturing industry, with major contributions from Trout Farming, Uranium Mining, and Arms Manufacturing. State-owned companies are common. Average income is 35,350 solaris, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.4 times as much as the poorest.

Parents are fined for sending their children to take out the trash after sunset, the government has the power to seize property at will, the government is seen to favor traditionalist religions, and scientists regularly clone human beings for research purposes. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Harkonnen's national animal is the griffin and its national religion is ambition.

Harkonnen is ranked 138,837^th in the world and 5^th in Dune for Most Eco-Friendly Governments, scoring 482.1 on the Dolphin Recycling Awareness Index.