CT maintaining control without the bureaucracy

The Regional Governors will keep the Star Systems in line.

or not.

 

Yeah, he didn't. Overall, you'd have to say that Sidious's Sith Empire was a fairly dismal failure. All those centuries of planning and it lasted, what, 20 years or so?

 

We see a progression that mirrors what Leia said about more systems slipping out of his tightening grip.

It seems like Palpatine had the greatest control following ROTS and during the Dark Times. Not a whole lot is known about the Empire during the 19 year gap between ROTS and ANH, if you ignore the EU, but we still know that the Rebels won their first victory shortly before ANH (from ANH's opening crawl). And in ROTS we see the senate actively applauding Palpatine as he becomes Emperor. He was loved and supported.

He then disbands the senate, paving the way for a military dictatorship and using the threat of violence to maintain order, but then after the destruction of the Death Star, the rebels seem to gain more traction and their ranks swell.

Had Palpatine never built the Death Star and kept the senate around, it's possible that the Rebellion would have failed. I mean, even sending the Executor or a few star destroyers to Yavin against 30 fighters probably would have seen greater success than trying to destroy the whole planet.

However, we do know that between ROTS and ANH rebel sympathy was on the rise in the senate (Tagge points this out in ANH), though it's unknown what the catalyst was for senators to begin shifting away from Palpatine towards the Rebellion.

 

Fear will keep the fans in line. Fear of this inconsistent timeline with even more conveluted theories and controversial characters

 

Palpatine's hubris is what did him in. Great point about dissolving the Senate. Had it stuck around he could have used his poltical tactics to keep them in line, bogged down- whatever. The resources it afford would have squashed the Rebellion.

 

20 awesome years though!!