Unfortunately, there is little in the canonical films and the Expanded Universe describing life in the Galactic Empire for the average citizen, although the rare glimpses here and there afforded by the role-playing materials of West End Games allow one to piece together a surprising picture of such everyday life. This author's comments on that subject may be found in the short essay "De Vitas Civitum Imperii," found in the Examinations section of Mr. Fortner's
site. Suffice it to say that the Galactic Empire, as of the era of the films, is a negative Utopia rather than a dystopia.
In the first place, it is possible to say that the Empire does not in fact take a direct hand in the government of the vast majority of its subject worlds. MAJ Hextrophon, the fictitious author of the
Imperial Sourcebook records the following in chapter one, "A Primer on Imperial Power":
The Empire has not completely altered the governments of hundreds of thousands of worlds. Such a task would be impractical. The Emperor has left it to his advisors to modify the portions of a planetary government, be it government procedure or members of the ruling body, to conform to the will of the Empire. Less than one planet in 80 has been so modified.
The preferred option is to let a planet run itself much as it has for years, but maintaining a visible Imperial presence so that the rulers know who their ultimate master is. The Empire also encourages the constituent planets to reform their own governments to conform to the Imperial method. In this way, individual worlds eliminate laws and freedoms, replacing them with doctrines and statutes more in line with Imperial edicts.
A somewhat similar gubernatorial arrangement is described in
Goroth: Slave of the Empire, although that was more of a puppet state system established because Goroth Prime was not officially a part of the Galactic Empire. In any case, one is reminded of the state of affairs in first century Judaea, where a token military presence under an Imperial
praefectus in Jerusalem served to remind the local rulers - viz., the Sanhedrin - that the Imperial eye was indeed watching.
The Mussolini-like worlds described by the
Dark Empire Sourcebook - where trains always arrive on time - must surely be in the Core Worlds, the Colonies, and the Expansion Region, and perhaps also in the Inner Rim; the large majority of Imperial citizens would live in these regions. Per the
Imperial Sourcebook, one might conclude that these conditions are not in fact imposed by the Galactic Empire, but rather by the Quisling governments of those states themselves.
This comfortable, insulated life would likely predispose most Imperial citizens to be at least passive supporters of Imperial rule. Not to mention that the Galactic Emperor is perceived popularly a beloved figure, the heroic and noble statesman who brought order and stability to a chaotic galaxy after the horrors of the Clone Wars, which the Galactic Emperor took advantage of by divorcing his person from the day to day operations of the Galactic Empire; rather than blaming the revered Galactic Emperor for Imperial viciousness and brutality, it is the Moff Governors, Government ministers, and other political leadership who will inevitably take the fall.
MAJ Hextrophon writes that the Imperial State "intervenes in the politics of a single world with an arrogance new to the governed peoples", and that "these changes have created resentment on some worlds, but the resentment is rarely cause enough for significant support of the Rebellion." There is an evident reluctance to have to do with a revolutionary movement, perhaps as the very concept has been permanently tainted by memories of the Secessionist movement and the ensuing Clone Wars with the Confederacy of Independent Systems.
However, as MAJ Hextrophon points out, life in the Galactic Empire is not uniform. The Imperial State's direct influence in one's life is relative to one's location, with the least direct influence generally in the Core Worlds and the Outer Rim Territories. Nevertheless, support for the Galactic Empire tends to grow stronger as one heads Core-ward, where MAJ Hextrophon says (in the
Rebel Alliance Sourcebook) "there is still much skepticism concerning the Rebellion," which is viewed by many as "brigands, pirates and anarchists".
Indeed, because of the Imperial State's monopoly on the HoloNet and probable tight regulation of subspace communications networks, Imperial propagandists were generally successful at portraying the Rebellion as "pirates, criminals, and anarchists, intent upon overthrowing the Empire for personal gain," as documented by MAJ Hextrophon in the
Rebel Alliance Sourcebook.
Whence, then, does support for the rebel Alliance come? MAJ Hextrophon makes a few interesting remarks in the
Rebel Alliance text:
Resources, mostly anonymous untraceable "donations" from wealthy families and corporations, were quietly and efficiently gathered. Ships were purchased through dummy corporations, or "stolen" from friendly governments. Recruitment and training organizations were placed on populated planets. Safe worlds were set up. Within a few short years, the Alliance was recognizably the same organization it is today.
Soon after the Declaration was distributed, several systems openly declared their allegiance to the Alliance. This was valiant, but foolish — Mothma attempted to stop them but was too late. Imperial response was swift and harsh, and within weeks all the "Secession Worlds" were suppressed. However, in their few weeks of freedom, the planets were able to transfer much of their weaponry, resources and manpower off-world, into the hands of the Alliance.
Particularly impressionable are the outlying systems, those not yet fully under the domination of the Empire. The Empire applies a lot of political pressure against these systems, using the threat of force to keep them in line. Most systems, knowing the awesome fleets at the Emperor's command and the relatively puny forces of the Alliance, used to see no option but to surrender to the Empire without a battle.
Now, however, the Alliance's stirring victory has given them new backbone. Even if they are not willing to absolutely cast their lot in with the Alliance, they are also less willing to cave in to pressure from the Empire. More importantly. many are surreptitiously aiding the Rebellion, supplying much-needed money, equipment, and soldiers.
Within the Core systems, the Alliance has no allies; in fact, it has few political connections at all. Even if a planetary governor or Moff were to wish to open discussions with the Alliance, their staffs are usually riddled with Imperial Security Bureau agents, making any kind of contact extremely risky for both sides. The huge businesses of the galaxy are even more tightly monitored. Consequently, the Rebellion looks to the outlying systems, underground organizations and nomadic free-traders for political support. Further complicating the diplomatic picture is the Alliance's reputation. The Imperial propagandists have been most effective at portraying the Alliance as a terrorist group, making many planetary and system leaders more than a little hesitant about opening discussions with them. The Alliance Ministry of Education is dedicated to altering that image through counter-propaganda, a task which has been made easier by the Empire's genocide at Alderaan.
Though there are many systems which are generally sympathetic to the Alliance, only a few are willing to openly support it, the others effectively cowed by fear of Imperial retribution. This is not unjustified — If the Empire discovers that a planet has been actively assisting the Alliance, It uses the harshest means at its disposal to punish the planet — witness again Alderaan.
The rebel Alliance is, in short, a state-sponsored terrorist group, largely sustained secretly by rogue states within the Galactic Empire. Although it enjoys widespread theoretical support, actual supporters of the Rebellion remain in the minority, as evidenced by the size of the rebel forces massed for the strike at Endor, which consisted of the entire rebel Alliance if one takes the novelization of
Return of the Jedi literally.
Note that the Imperial State does in fact actively promote a healthy mistrust of the rebel Alliance amongst its member states:
Special missions forces have been pressed into "political gain operations" (PGOs) with increasing frequency. Special mission troopers call them "straw man" operations. PGOs are terrorist missions held on worlds where native sympathies vacillate between the Empire and the Rebellion.
In a typical PGO, the special missions troops stage several terrorist attacks, executed in a manner which would suggest that political factions native to the world could have produced the attacks.
Eventually some political faction will appeal to the planetary governor for help. The governor will declare martial law, asking for help from the fleet. The help arrives in the form of hundreds or thousands of additional troops. These troops operate on "new intelligence," rounding up scores of suspected or known Rebel sympathizers for imprisonment or execution. Once the Rebels are out of the way the attacks cease, reinforcing the impression that the Rebellion indeed sponsored the attacks. The special missions force then moves on to another world.
Dialogue from the novelization of
A New Hope further suggests that Imperial agents may in fact pose as rebel Alliance recruiters. The Imperial State worked to erode the tenuous support for the rebel Alliance not only by propaganda but also by covert and clandestine operations to portray the rebel Alliance as dangerous terrorists and anarchical criminals.
The ultimate intention of the Galactic Empire can be divined from the evidence of the Expanded Universe, and it is indeed a fascinating picture of malignant narcissism in its most extreme form.
As described by Dr. Sam Vaknin in
Malignant Self-Love: Narcissism Revisited, narcissism is "a pattern of traits and behaviors which signify infatuation and obsession with one's self to the exclusion of all others and the egotistic and ruthless pursuit of one's gratification, dominance and ambition"; psychoanalyst Dr. Otto Kernberg
describes malignant narcissism as
the most severe forms of it — in which there is a particular malignant development that consists of a return to primitive aggression and an idealization of the self as an aggressive self with power over others. This pathological idealization of the self as an aggressive self clinically is called "malignant narcissism." And this is very much connected with evil and with a number of clinical forms that evil takes, such as the pleasure and enjoyment in controlling others, in making them suffer, in destroying them, or the casual pleasure in using others' trust and confidence and love to exploit them and to destroy them. That's the real evil — that synthesis between pathological narcissism and primitive aggression. And we find that at the level of individuals and in groups as well. Sometimes we find it in organizations. We find it in certain fundamentalist ideologies; we find it in certain aspects of mass psychology. That's the real evil.
The structure of the Galactic Empire reflects a variety of statist inclinations, ranging from paternalism to authoritarianism to totalitarianism. The Imperial Senate, composed at least of a working Monarchist majority, would probably tend toward a sort of "Father Knows Best" ideology (especially given that many Imperial Senators would represent the very Mussolinified worlds described by the
Dark Empire Sourcebook); the aristocracy and no doubt a large part of the military-industrial complex lean toward a Franquist conception of the state and its r le; and then there is COMPNOR, for whom the Duce's maxim "Everything in the State, nothing outside the State, nothing against the State" may as well have been custom-made.
Each of these ideologies was part of something much larger, a much grander plan than any of them might have realized. The history of the Galactic Emperor reveals him to be a consummate manipulator of others, who uses their own intentions and actions to further his goals, often without their realization of the fact. The fact of the matter is that the groundwork for his domination of the Republican Government was already in place when he was elected Supreme Chancellor; his corporate, political, and social connections both as Senator Palpatine and as Darth Sidious were more than adequate to assure him total control of the galactic government before he even claimed it. In essence, the time between
The Phantom Menace and
Revenge of the Sith was not to accumulate power for himself, but rather to acclimate the galaxy to his exercise of it.
This strategy, similar to the approach used by COL Hamilton in establishing a viable financial structure for the United States, consisted of introducing small, seemingly innocuous measures which aroused no ire from opponents, and a handful of controversial measures; once combined, they linked together to form a chain too strong to be broken by the political opposition once it was realized that the chain did in fact exist.
Much the same sort of strategy is in use with regards to the ideologies of the Imperial leadership. The ultimate form of the Galactic Empire is present in embryonic form within it, doubtlessly being slowly and carefully cultivated by the Galactic Emperor, without anyone being the wiser.
The pristine "luxury liner" worlds are surely intended as an early stage of transformation into idyllic paradisaical worlds like Byss, whose 19.8 billions of inhabitants were slowly being absorbed into the Galactic Emperor himself, by means of "drain life essence", according to the very same
Dark Empire Sourcebook. In such worlds, the population are already accustomed to obedience to the "face and voice of Authority," a central tenet to the Galactic Emperor's
The Weakness of Inferiors, which is based on the doctrine of "control, without violence."
What is especially significant about this is that
The New Essential Guide to Characters states that this was a synthesis of Sith philosophy with the political science work published by Senator Palpatine earlier in his career, work that was extremely well-received among the intelligentsia and academia, and made into standard texts at a number of the galaxy's most prestigious universities - in other words, the unadulterated doctrine of the Galactic Emperor was earlier introduced to and accepted by the galaxy, albeit in a more readily digestible form.
One of the key elements of the ultimate form of the Galactic Empire, not yet fully integrated into the existing framework, was the Galactic Emperor's dark side adepts. These practitioners of the dark side of the Force, who were also a part of the Galactic Emperor's exhaustive study of the Force in all its manifestations, are described by the
Dark Empire Sourcebook as follows:
While none of them were permitted to advance far compared to Palpatine's own level of power, they did become quite powerful indeed. Some were taught ways of combat and made into Dark Jedi. Others joined the elite of Imperial functionaries, traversing the galaxy and seeing to the proper enforcement of Palpatine's decrees. Still others were courtiers at the Palace in the new capital on Byss.
Whatever they do, they enact the Emperor's will and policies with his total trust and confidence because their link to him through the Force allows him to always observe them. Before the Emperor's defeat, many had been gathered into the Imperial Ruling Council. It had been planned that eventually these adepts would replace the system of Moffs, Grand Moffs and governors, instituting a Dark Side Theocracy.
Even once the dark side adepts were fully integrated into the Imperial system creating the intended theocracy, the evolution of the Galactic Empire would not yet be complete. The key to the ultimate form lay in the Galactic Emperor's connection to his dark side adepts, and by extension their own connection to the countless Imperial citizens under their rule. As described in
Dark Empire II, the Galactic Emperor's Dark Jedi were largely absorbed into his own consciousness, becoming "extensions of his being." This same relationship exists in parallel between the dark side adepts and the Sentinels in the Imperial Citadel on Byss (
cf. GADM Thrawn's "borg-implant theory" regarding the Imperial Starfleet at Endor in
Heir to the Empire, or Joruus C'baoth's absorption of GEN Covell in
The Last Command).
Here one sees the final form of the Galactic Empire: The Galactic Emperor would ultimately consume his dark side adepts into his own ego. In turn, each of these adepts would consume others beneath them, until at last every last sentient being were assimilated into the Galactic Emperor. The Galactic Emperor is already quasi-immortal, having overcome death by means of possessing clone bodies; by then, he would have transcended humanity itself, becoming more a force of nature than an individual being. Indeed, one questions whether he would have need of his original body at all, having every single body in the galaxy as his own.
Here is the ultimate expression of the malignant narcissism described by Dr. Kernberg. Here, the Galactic Emperor, having idealized himself as an aggressor, undertakes not only to control, exploit, and destroy others, but obliterates them as distinct from himself entirely. The end result is the realization of the first stage of Dr. Freud's psychological development, a galaxy in which all life
is an extension of the self, where life exists only to satisfy the self's desires and needs.
The military and naval complex of the Galactic Empire, like everything else within the Imperial framework, exists to further the goals of the Galactic Emperor; the Army, Navy, and Marines serve a very practical function within that framework: to protect, enforce, and propagate the Imperial system.
Although, as considered above, the majority of the Imperial population - which, it may be added, includes both humans and non-humans - may support the Galactic Emperor personally, and, very likely to a lesser extent, the Imperial State institutionally, by no means does this mean that the states within the Galactic Empire necessarily have any regard for one another. Indeed, in the "Hand of Thrawn" duology, the former "Star Warriors" come to realize how much of the Imperial armed forces were devoted to suppressing internecine fighting and ancient, violent rivalries within the Galactic Empire. An important part of the Imperial system is law and order, and fighting amongst member states is not conducive toward those ends.
Specter of the Past refers to the "petty little wars the Emperor's New Order had so thoughtlessly interrupted."
Additionally, the Imperial armed forces maintain two parallel forces; on the Sector level, in addition to suppressing fraternal warfare, the Imperial military-naval complex also serves as a permanent occupation force, to put down any rebellion directed at the Imperial State itself. At the pan-Empire level, even greater strategic forces exist to subjugate undue independence, warlordism, or secessionism on the part of the full-fledged member states or even the Moff Governors or Grand Moff Governors themselves.
Furthermore, the Imperial armed forces were also responsible for defense of the Galactic Empire's territories from outside aggression, and also conquest of new territories as deemed appropriate by the political leadership (usually undertaken after diplomatic negotiation has failed to secure the desired results). Elimination of the rebel Alliance and like movements would be merely one of many tasks for the Imperial armed forces.
Ultimately, once the dark side theocracy were instituted in its fullest form, the purpose of the Imperial military-naval complex would change; in a guest lecture at the Brionelle Memorial Military Academy, Chandrila, MAJ Hextrophon made the following remarks (found in the
Dark Empire Sourcebook):
"[...] With the revelation of the Emperor's possible immortality, a new theory comes to mind. With seemingly no end to his reign, the Emperor could foresee a time when he would want to expand his reign.
"Would a single galaxy be enough for Palpatine the Undying? I think not. The Old Republic had long considered the possibility of contact with other galaxies and made several abortive attempts at it. Palpatine had even secretly destroyed the most recent of these, the Outbound Flight project. According to what we have retrieved from Admiral Thrawn's notes, he led the mission to kill the six Jedi aboard the ship.
"It seems obvious that Palpatine's ultimate goal was the conquest, not just of our galaxy, but of others. What better way to ensure his military supremacy than with these World Devastators? Arriving at world after world, consuming and creating weapons while the battle rages on about them, never lacking for resources or energy ... the thought is terrifying. [...]"
If MAJ Hextrophon's belief is correct, and the known predilections of the Sith indicate that it most probably is, then it seems clear that, like all else in the Imperial system, the Imperial armed forces have their own role in what one might call the Apotheosis of Palpatine. Once he had become God-Emperor - in a way unrivaled even by the
Dune saga's Padishah Emperor Leto II, imperial cult and all - it would then become the task of the Imperial armed forces, in the shape of the World Devastators, to extend his all-encompassing rule to other galaxies, as well.
The Galactic Empire in its final form would be a sort of mystical, expansionist anarchy (if every sentient within the Galactic Empire were an extension of the apotheosized Galactic Emperor, the state would be rendered wholly obsolete). Given an immortal enemy imbued with vast preternatural abilities, able to rend the fabric of space and time with his mind, and possessed of colossal engines of destruction capable of self-repair and adaptation, one might conclude that resistance would in fact be futile.
PUBLIUS
Nah.
