The purpose of this article is to examine the Galactic Empire. Throughout the history of the galaxy, rarely has there been a government of such efficiency in power. We shall discuss its rise to prominence and the resulting impact on galactic politics. Of course, we cannot discuss the origins of the Empire without also examining the origins and career of the late Palpatine.

Some time before the collapse of the Old Republic, Palpatine was the Senator for some thirty-six inhabited planets, including his homeworld of Naboo. During the Trade Federation's blockade of Naboo in the year 32 BBY, Palpatine was elected as Supreme Chancellor of the Senate - a position he would hold throughout the early years of the Clone Wars. When those dreadful conflicts began, it was Palpatine who convinced the Security Committee to ally with the Kaminoans and use their advanced cloning technology to build up the Republic's almost non-existant military. Following the success of that campaign and others using the new clonetroopers, it was decided that a large portion of military authority would be given to Palpatine, and he was essentially made Commander-in-Chief of the Republic's armed forces.

In the aftermath of the Clone Wars, the Republic was left broken and crumbling. Many of the Jedi, including their vaunted Council, had been slaughtered during the wars. Even under the brilliant leadership of Chancellor Palpatine, the fleets of the Republic had been drastically reduced yet again and the costs of extended warfare had taken their toll on the galaxy's economy. Coupled with the burgeoning corruption found within the Senate, it appeared that the Republic was doomed. In a bold political move, Palpatine decreed that the only hope of salvation laid within a restructuring of the government. Supported by a Senate majority, Palpatine immediately began to put his vision into action, resulting in the implementation of his "New Order". Palpatine's new programs included a massive military buildup, which in turn provoked economical growth in the Corporate Sector and many of the galaxy's largest corporations. As the Republic's new fleets began to supplant the Jedi as the guardians of the galaxy, many systems experienced an unimagined peace as conflicts were quickly resolved. Palpatine also began various programs to care for the poverty-stricken and uneducated. Mandatory health and education codes were quickly passed, beginning on Coruscant and successfully spreading throughout the galaxy.

As his programs met with success and Palpatine's popularity grew, the Chancellor proved that his boldness knew no bounds. With the support of the military and much of the Senate behind him, Palpatine declared himself Emperor and christened the new government the Galactic Empire. Of course, there was some unrest at the move, and some of the more problematic Senators were necessarily branded traitors and executed. In fact, the efficiency with which the new government dealt with problems was staggering, and put to rest whatever lingering doubts citizens had to Palpatine's rule.

The military of the Republic retained its command and rank structure, and the Navy of the Republic became the Imperial Navy. Politically speaking, very little changed within the military branches of the government, save for the Imperial annexation of the Academy campus on Carrida. It is said that the Director of the Academy at the time objected to the annexation, but it would seem that he did not remain in power long enough to effect any changes. While the Academy and most of its campuses retained their neutrality, the campus on Carrida was christened as the Imperial Academy and served as the primary training ground for the Fleet. Of course, various other such organizations and institutions began to fear annexation and took political steps to protect themselves, although such steps were often in vain. One such example is that of Kuat Drive Yards, the largest manufacturer of starships in the galaxy. KDY took great political strides to protect itself from annexation, fearing that they would be targeted by Palpatine since they were the Fleet's primary source of Star Destroyers. To prevent their annexation, therefore, the reknowned Kuat of Kuat established an exclusivity contract with the Empire, thus restricting their construction of military capital ships to its use and none other. Although restricting the corporation's consumer base, this move allowed KDY to remain an independent entity. Several other corporations followed suit, thus granting the Empire exclusive access to several technologies and resources. Such alliances served only to boost the economy, a further testament to the Empire's success.

With the rise of Palpatine, the Senate began to lose much of its political power. Considering how such power was often squandered during the waning days of the Republic, it is of no surprise that the Senate soon became merely a medium through which Palpatine could hear from his citizens. Indeed, although every planet was fairly represented during Palpatine's rule, it soon became apparent that corruption and beauracracy could not be controlled even in the Empire. And so, after twenty years of attempting to combat the political nature of the Senate, a resigned Palpatine finally disbanded the Senate. It was also publicly announced that the Senate was found to be rife with bribery and rebel sympathizers. Which, in fact, leads to the largest political change of the Empire - the rebellion.

When Palpatine declared himself Emperor, there were several Senators that objected to the move. It should be noted that most of these were of the younger generation, and that most senators with seniority supported Palpatine. At any rate, Palpatine had no choice but to remove the outspoken ones from their positions, lest they spread discontent and malice throughout the Senate. It is assured that peaceful attempts at negotiation were made, but the opponents of Palpatine could not be silenced. When matters began to grow out of control, Palpatine's guards attempted to arrest some of the more unruly delegates. Many of the Senators involved would not cooperate and were eventually charged with treason and executed, but many others fled to avoid prosecution. Among these that fled were Mon Mothma, a young Senator from Chandrila and one of Palpatine's most outspoken opponents. She apparently fled throughout the galaxy, spreading her anarchistic ideals. Her treasonous behavior peaked when she convinced two other former Senators to sign a declaration of war against the Empire and formed the so-called "Alliance to Restore the Republic". Utter nonsense. Humph. As if the Empire were a less respectable form of government than the decaying old Republic.

The damage had been done, however. The rebels gained in favor and power, despite the Empire's best attempts to quieten the unrest and restore civility. When the planet Alderaan was found to be a hotbed of rebel sympathy and a major supply depot for the rebels, the Empire destroyed the planet in another attempt to discourage such behavior. Alas, the act only seemed to strengthen the rebel cause, and the galaxy was again plunged into war. The Empire tried vainly to uproot and destroy the rebels, nearly succeeding on several occasions, but how can any government fight a foe that hides among its own citizens?

Sadly, we have recieved word that Emperor Palpatine himself was killed several weeks ago in the Endor system. The rumors appear to be true, and the effects can be seen even here on Obroa-skai. I would imagine that the political efficiency of the entire Empire has already begun to break down throughout the galaxy, although word from Coruscant gives the impression that life will continue as usual. These rebels do not realize what they have done - the Empire had the potential to be the greatest form of government found in the galaxy, and they have destroyed it. Their propaganda suggests that they intend to rebuild the Old Republic, but why would one replace a clean and efficient form of government with one found to be weak and susceptible to corruption? I submit that the galaxy will soon be run by fools. Humph. Fools, indeed.