The Emperor's Influence

Empires are not necessarily evil..take rome...the western world fell into a dark age after it collapsed. Also, correct me if im wrong, but werent the senators of the galctic republic appointed, not elected? And, as i said, any number of senators isnt much better than an emperor.... you'd need something like 40 trillion senators to match the senator to population ration of the US.

OK...i didnt want this to turn into a republic/empire debate, but a discussion as to how much the existence of the empire affected anyone. It obviously affected alot of people, due to the rebellion...ie the destruction of alderaan, but other than that, i just dont see the empire has anything all that bad, since its authority over even its own capital world, with 1 trillion people, would be almost meaningless. i mean, we cant even imagine a trillion people...and thats just a drop in the galactic population. and as i said i doubt the emperor even knew the names of 100 of the 50,000,000 worlds in the galaxy. so what possible consequences could he have. if i lived in such a society, i could care less who the ultimate authorities are. once again...not a criticism of star wars, this is just an interesting aspect of the star wars universe to me.

 

To respond to grav1mage's comment on the Stormtroopers thinking themeselves as superior to the Tatooine yokels & letting it get out of hand:
a) from our current knowledge from the films, the ST's are clones, genetically altered to be receptive to orders. I doubt that kind of mental attitude would really lead to delusions of grandeur.
b) don't forget that the troopers who commited the crimes against the jawas and the Lars' we dispatched from the Avenger by Darth Vader. These were not guys who would have he time to develop a superiority complex (if they could).

I agree that the average Imperial citizen probably didn't have much reason to hate the Empire. Many probably loved all of the changes brought about by a central authority. Some may have resented a governor or taxation. Of course, some felt its evil actions first-hand.

I also agree that the Emperor himself probably didn't do a whole lot of governing. To me, his aim seemed to be to position himself where he could institute the new order and let fear and hatred take over the galaxy. He's not going to micromanage. Gone are the days when he has to supervise everything (TPM). By AOTC, we see that he merely needs to set things in motion, and others will guide events where he wants them - because he has set up a network of supporters. That's what the Empire and the New Order are to Palpatine - a network of groups organized so that his will is carried out - even without his direct supervision. That allows him time to bask in the gathering darkness and forsee the events and arrangements he needs to plan for.

The system is built on Fear - but that is not its only pillar. Yoda referenced Fear, Hatred, Aggression. The Emporer has cultivated fear of death and destruction through the Death Star. He has cultivated interspecies hatred, xenophobia (I don't see this as representative of Palpatine's own feelings, he just uses it to his advantage), and slavery. And of course, he has the colossal Imperial Armed Forces that aggressively pacifies dissidence. All three of these work together to achieve his aims of turning the galaxy to the dark side. Who says you have to be miserable to be possessed by evil?

Back to the main point of the thread - why rebel? If the average GFFA schmo thinks everything is fine - why ditch the government? Because the things it is doing are WRONG. They upset the balance of the Force. Many don't see it, some do. It is those few who are the heroes, b/c they won't stand for it.

Just as in the world today, there are many sides of all issues. Without getting into personal politics and hopefully avoiding flaming and spamming about current events - the Saga seems to reflect issues in the world today. Some people in the US think that the President is doing a fabulous job, others feel he's doing a terrible job and want him out. Some feel that the invasion of Iraq was the right thing to do. Others think it is wrong. Some Iraqis welcomed the toppling of Saddam, others did not. Of all of those, many lost loved ones and are resentful because of it. And there are some who believe that the US must be stopped.

I'm being totally NON-PARTISAN here people, all of these groups are out there, no matter how you feel about them. I'm not saying the Alliance and al-Qaeda are the same animal. Remember that in the Expanded Universe, the rebels are called terrorists by the Empire. Concurrently, the 9/11 hijackers are called heroes by some. OB1 said it best: "Luke, you're going to find that a lot of the truths you cling to are dependent on your point-of-view" (or something like that).

I think that the new ending of ROTJ kind of ruined this by showing that EVERYBODY was happy of the Emperor's demise. Surely some folks would be pissed off.

Crap, I've totally rambled on - but my point is basically that most folks wouldn't feel directly oppressed by the Emperor, but they would be subject to the evil manipulations of the New Order no matter how well they liked them. And a small percentage of those people would do the heroic thing

 

I feel obligated to mention that in all likelihood, additional cinematic evidence of the evilness of the Empire will be revealed in Episode III.

Capital punishment: Just because we do it on this planet doesn't make it right. Even so, the captain of the Tantive IV gets no trial. As a captured military officer, he is entitled to POW treatment at worst (if you consider him an enemy combatant to the Empire), and due process of a citizen at best (if you consider the Rebellion an internal issue). Neither does Leia get a trial- Tarkin just orders her death, and not for her crimes, but because he is pissed off at her for lying to him (his interpretation; it is not shown onscreen that Leia already knew the Rebels had abandoned the Dantooine base).

Furthermore, as stated, Tarkin blows up Alderaan and kills everyone on it, to frighten everyone else into submitting to Imperial domination. There is no excuse for this action, though the Empire-lovers have tried long and hard to justify it. As Tarkin himself admits, Alderaan itself is not a legitimate military target. Leia's assertion of "no weapons" aside, the hypothetical presence of hostile military forces doesn't make it right to just kill however many millions or billions of civilians are also living on the planet, most of whom are probably not participating every day in the decision-making process of their planetary government, though they may tacitly support it.

Firing between the two ships does not prove the Rebels started it. Also, the right of the Star Destroyer captain to pull them in, has not been established onscreen.

Following Darth Vader's orders, Imperial military officers deliberately lie to the Imperial Senate (and thus, indirectly, the public) about the fate of the Tantive IV and Princess Leia.

Elite troops who pull two people apart in the middle of what may be their last kiss, are definitely lacking in humanity and quite evil.

The actions of the Empire towards Han Solo in TESB, constitute a potential summary execution, and if not, potentially putting him in permanent suspended animation, possibly a worse fate, also without trial, on the authority of military officials only (unless Darth Vader has political authority we don't know about).

 

Even so, the captain of the Tantive IV gets no trial. As a captured military officer, he is entitled to POW treatment at worst, and due process of a citizen at best.

If you're on Earth. And in the USA more specifically, then you're right. But there's no reason to assume those rights exist in the GFFA.

Elite troops who pull two people apart in the middle of what may be their last kiss, are definitely lacking in humanity and quite evil.

Arbitrary, and not relevant.

I get the impression that you're upset because the millitary seems to be in control and not answerable to the civilians. That would be the definition of a dictatorship, though. I don't really see where the problem is. Especially when you consider that the millitary is all there is because the senate is disolved.

 

Well they can be good at times. Personally I think that Empire was far better than both Republics and the GFFA. The entire Yuuzhan Vong war could have been over far more easily if the Empire was still in place.

I don't believe it that you miss the point in such a big way! It doesn't matter if a dictatorship is "good" or not. EVERY educated and civilized man in the world knows that the greatest achievement in someone's life is FREEDOM. All other things are less important. And in a dictatorship there is NO freedom. There are restrictions everywhere. What does it matter if the Yuuzhan Vong war was more easily over by the Empire when the people wouldn't have their freedom anyway?
When the Greek war for independence started at 1821, most of the Ottaman Empire's commerce was at the hands of wealthy greeks. Still, most of these greeks gave everything they had to support the war, because all they had was meaningless as long as they were not free. The war cry they used was "freedom or death" and this is something all people should live by.

 

The ANH novelization is weird when it talks about the Emperor, in light of ROTJ, since we know he's really pulling the strings.

It might seem far-fetched for one man to influence a whole galaxy, but our ancestors might have believed the same about one man ruling a whole nation of 270+ million people. No doubt Palpatine does not micro-manage each individual system, but rather keeps a broad view of everything, and keeps in touch with certain vital details and areas, and leaves all other details to advisors and officers of various ranks. In this way, he could have a large measure of control over the entire galaxy's affairs, while not necessarily determining everything that happens in regards to every system and its laws, defenses, etc. According to sources such as the SW Encyclopedia, Palpatine does something like this, and exerts enough control and direction, that without him, the Empire as a whole does not work, and thus starts to desintegrate after his death.



It is a sad day when people can't tell serious points of argument and jokes apart.

DS615: You are wrong, in that I was not thinking of that at the time, but just thinking of what the Empire does that I see as overtly evil.

However, now that you mention it, having the military in control usually causes (and indicates) serious problems. Such as excessive aggression/militarism, excessive defense budgets (compared to social programs, health, education, etc), and quite probably degradation of social/cultural values, in that force, or violence even, comes to be seen as the best, or even the only, solution to problems. Excessive militarism leads not only to aggressive and unjust wars, but also to war casualties, and to de-humanization of soldiers, especially those who see heavy action.

I should point out that Vader's conversation with the Imperial officer aboard the Tantive IV, which I referred to, takes place before the Imperial Senate is actually dissolved (or that is, before the news arrives). If the Imperial Military is not evil, why do they feel the need to conceal their true actions from the Senate (and by extension, the public)?


I fail to see how a government that maintains its hold on power primarily through negative emotional manipulaton, specifically, fear of overwhelming destructive force, can be good. Fear prevents people from living their lives properly and reaching their true potential. Fear clouds the mind and perpetuates neurotic patterns of behavior. And if one goes so far as to believe the Jedi, fear leads to the Dark Side in Force-adepts.

 

nice post, eaglejedi. After reading I have a question:

WOULD the empire truly distegrate without palpatine? (OK, we know it did from the books, but discounting the EU)

How important can one man be in such a large galaxy? How many people live in the GFFA? If we assume 50 million planets, and an average population of 100 million per planet(This is extremely conservative, given that Coruscant has by accounts a trillion people and there are many other planets that match its pop according the game rogue squadron anyway), then there would be 5,000,000,000,000,000 people in the galaxy, and 50 million systems. This is an unimaginably HUGE number. This doesnt even count droids. (lets not forget this population is divided amongst 20 million species).

Also, the governments of these planets are divided into sectors. By some reports, there are about 1000 senators in the old republic, so that makes about 50,000 planets per sector. So we have 1,000 imperial governors, not to mention the local governments of each of the 50,000,000 systems, all being held together by one man?

This makes me believe the emperor's position was almost trivial, and that his dissolution of the senate to be even more trivial. Why dissolve such a small body that could help you govern...hwoever one could govern such a large and complicated system. Any thoughts?

 

The idea of the Empire falling after Palpatine's death is one that I puzzle over, as well. On one hand, there's the puzzle that once the Emperor is dead, and there are no heirs, what happens to the Empire? Who becomes the head of state? (And no, I don't accept the EU's three-eyed son of Palpatine)

On the other hand, however, the Empire surely has a massive governmental and military bureaucracy that would be unlikely to simply roll over and die following Palpatine's death. Despite the loss of Palpatine, Vader, the DSII, the Executor and various other ISDs, the Empire still commanded a staggeringly large military, and it wouldn't be scared by a few Mon Cal cruisers and a converted tramp freighter.

So are there real world precedents we can go by? Well, Nazism didn't survive long after Hitler's death, but it was being crushed on two fronts in a war of titanic scale. Soviet communism outlasted Lenin, but some say that Stalinism was a very, very different form of government and that communism in the USSR died with its founder. Mao's death didn't bring about a massive change in China, but today the "communist" government is leaning more and more towards capitalism, so perhaps Maoism is dead, after all. I'm sure there are countless examples of a powerful leader bringing down a system of government with his death, but at the moment I can't really think of any.

The EU answer, actually, is that Palpatine's death at Endor didn't bring down the Empire at all. It kept on fighting the Alliance for years while its territory receded rather rapidly. One notion suggested by Timothy Zahn (and its one of the only things that I liked in Zahn's novels) is that the Emperor's death brought about a massive collapse of the Imperial forces. Palpatine, it is ventured, was using the Force to bolster his men, and his death ensured their defeat. Upon watching AOTC, this becomes even more plausible, as we learn that Sidious' dark side powers are strong enough to impede the abilities of the entire Jedi Order. It's possible that Palpatine's influence over the entire galaxy came through the Force, and that he exerted a mystical will over every single sentient in the Empire. I'm not saying that Palpatine consciously controlled tha actions of every person, just that through the Force he pacified the galactic population with fear, making them less inclined to rebel or question authority. Only the most strong-willed individuals banded together, creating the Alliance.

This may seem far-fetched, but it also might explain the mass uprisings that the Emperor's death brought about across the galaxy, as seen in ROTJ:SE, where even the Imperial stronghold of Coruscant and the far-flung backwater of Tatooine are beset by crowds cheering the demise of their oppressive Emperor.

 

The Regional Govenors have direct control over thei systems. The death of the Emperor would do little more than fracture the Empire into smaller "warlord realms".

 

In the end of course, I hope everyone realizes that Lucas never once sat back and did the math in his head. Nor did he think we would. If Lucas says the Empire is all, then I'm fine with that.

 

Of course Lucas never thought about all this stuff. But its kind of interesting to ponder anyway. For nerds like me anyway.

 

EU or not, you can't think that someone who had his apprentice systematically hunt down and exterminate the Jedi is good. Even the thinking that the Death Star was built in response to the Rebels is flawed. Do you know how much research would have to be conducted for a weapon capable of destroying a planet, how long that would take. Then to comission something that monumental, all for the pure fear that would dominate people. That's evil.

The fact that it could be used to destroy the Rebels was brought up after it's completed construction and it's fully manned.

 

This is another of Lucas' weak spots: He seems to suggest the Empire just fell apart as soon as the Emperor hit the reactor shaft. Not so; it's theoretically impossible for the Empire to just collapse. He surely had a huge beauracracy, and definately had an immense millitary command structure {there were more than 25,000 Imperial Star Destroyers in the Navy alone} that could easily step up to bat after his death. And, in the EU, they did. Although they often fought one another, the Empire held together for more than two decades after Palpatines death, until the Yuuzhan Vong invasion.

 

I believe you naysayers are forgetting a vastly important idea. You're applying real world thinking and terminology to a story which is purely fantasy. You're looking at a Galaxy where there's sound in space, every other planet is habitable, and one man can rule the whole thing. But what's the idea? The Force, or more specifically; the Dark Side. I think in doubting the likelihood that the Emperor truly maintained control you are severely underestimating the power of the Dark Side. In Attack of the Clones we learn that Palpatine has clouded the Force with the Galaxy. When the Clone Wars begin, Yoda notes that the shroud of the Dark Side has fallen. This shroud remains spread through Galaxy until almost thirty years later.

DARTH VADER
Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed, the ability to destroy a planet is insignificant compared to the power of the Force.

As eaglejedi mentioned, Vader instructed his officers to send a distress call to the Imperial Senate, after the officer expressed his concerns that their holding of Leia is ?dangerous? and ?could create sympathy for the Rebellion in the Senate?. It seems that there still is one last shred of democracy left in the Galaxy, because without this extra layer the Emperor in fact can?t maintain control. It?s not until the Death Star is completed that the last remnants of the Old Republic are swept away, as the death weapon secures his iron grip hold over the Galaxy. So what happens when the Death Star is soon destroyed? Surely this would mean that the Emperor would lose control without this weapon. Ultimately that is correct.

The deeds of Luke Skywalker in ANH lead to the ultimate downfall of the Empire in the long run. Note how the Rebellion increases in size after the events of ANH. By the time RotJ rolls around we see a much larger Rebellion than what was residing on Yavin IV, with the likes of Mon Calamari and a much larger star fighter compliment. It seems that literally the day Palpatine completes his plans, he?s foiled by Skywalker, forced to take a step back and try to complete his Empire once again with the construction of a second, less vulnerable Death Star. It?s the weapon that would seal both the fate of the Rebellion and the state of fear in the Galaxy. Palpatine is destroyed by the Chosen One. Anakin transforms back to his true self, and the Sith are finally extinct. The shroud of the Dark Side is lifted. As the Force is brought back to balance, the Galaxy instantly starts weeding out evil elements starting with the Death Star II, as during this fateful moment the Death Stars defence is penetrated and destroyed from within.

The Empire was formed in a number of slow steps over some period of time. The first step was in TPM when the Dark Lord of Sith caused himself to be elected ruler of the Galactic Senator through manipulation and suffering of innocent people. The second and third steps are demonstrated in AotC, where he exploits the corruption already exsisting in the Republic to manufacture a civil war, transforming the Republic into a military regime and incorporating his manufactured army of Stormtroopers into the Republic. The fourth step is to make sure he has immediate control over the military. I assume the last two steps will be declaring the Republic an Empire and calling himself Emperor after the Confederacy is defeated, and creating the ultimate weapon to make sure things stay that way. His goal as a Sith Lord is ultimate control. It?s clear he sees himself above all other life and belongs at the top. Be that as it may, he is aware that he?s reliant on either the Senate or his military or both in order to maintain control. I?d be inclined to say that Palpatine and his Empire are symbionts. He relies on an apprentice, a Death Star, and an army to maintain his iron grip. It seems two out of three are likely to be enough. Anyway, as you surely know symbious is a common theme throughout the saga. Just as the survival of one depends on the survival of the other, and inversely means the fall of one results in th

 

"I believe you naysayers are forgetting a vastly important idea. You're applying real world thinking and terminology to a story which is purely fantasy. You're looking at a Galaxy where there's sound in space, every other planet is habitable, and one man can rule the whole thing. But what's the idea?"

No one is naysaying star wars. This is just a conversation amongst nerds, myself included, who think its interesting to apply real world thinking to the story. Of course its not Lucas's intent, but interesting nonetheless.

Anyway, as to the issue of how evil it was for The imperials to kill poor old Uncle Owen... Many governments kill innocent people without trials here in our world...Our government has issued a kill on the spot edict for Osama Bin Laden, with no trial, as one of many examples. Im not saying Im against such drastic measures, only that what the empire did to uncle owen was little different, since they were haboring traitors, and in all likelyhood refused to give up luke or the droids. Hence, the military executed the traitors. It seems unreasonable to suppose that they would bring these insignifant people back for a military trial, especially given the size of the galaxy.

As for the Rebel Blockcade runner that leia was on...it was fleeing, and once caught, intended to put up a fight...hence it was attacked, just as our police attack those who resist arrest in such ways.

Lets look at the facts...The Old Republic, which featured no military forces was highly ineffective. Thus, we know whatever galactic government we have, it needs a military. And, even if the new republic existed, i doubt it would stop such actions...especially, as I have previously noted, because of its size. I dont see any reason why the head of the government would affect such small issues in such a big galaxy.

Let me restate that as this: if the emperor were good, instead of evil...i believe uncle owen could have just as easly been killed the way they were because there is no way the emperor could have control of such things in such a large system.

 

Anyway, as to the issue of how evil it was for The imperials to kill poor old Uncle Owen... Many governments kill innocent people without trials here in our world...

And alot of the time it's unquestionably evil. Cold blooded killing without a trial is universally accepted as such.

Our government has issued a kill on the spot edict for Osama Bin Laden, with no trial, as one of many examples.

The Emperor's death in RotJ is ordered by the Rebels without a trial. Although when Luke is given the opportunity, he doesn't even try because it would be out of hatred. You need to look at the distinction between killing in hot blood and killing in cold blood. Captain Antillies was murdered, and it was covered up. It's clear that the rest of the Galaxy would hear about this, otherwise Vader would not have ordered that a distress call be sent.

Let me restate that as this: if the emperor were good, instead of evil...i believe uncle owen could have just as easly been killed the way they were because there is no way the emperor could have control of such things in such a large system."

If the Emperor was good, he wouldn't have an army of stormtroopers. He also wouldn't have created a weapon of mass destruction, which these stormtroopers need to protect by murdering innocent people. If it weren't for the Emperor, the Empire wouldn't be on Tatooine in the first place. Could Owen and Beru still be murdered under COMPLETELY different circumstances? (Ie, say Sandpeople DID kill the Jawas and somehow Owen and Beru too) Yes, but at least their murders wouldn't be funded by the tax payer and not only condoned but ordered by the Government.

 

Based on spoilers that can't be disscussed here, Ep3, I think, will provide a rather interesting reason for the Empire not being able to outlive the Emperor.

 

A couple of observations about the new direction of this thread:

1. "If the Emperor was good, he wouldn't have an army of stormtroopers. He also wouldn't have created a weapon of mass destruction. ~Raz I don't think this is fair. The stormtroopers are just the name of the stnading army of the Empire. And most every nation-state ever in existence has had an army, or at least access to military forces. This doesn't make one evil. Similarly, weapons of mass destruction don't make one evil either. They are just further extrapolations of weapons technology. Many nations have them that aren't considered "evil," and one would expect that any governing authority could do the same in the SW universe. There's no overwhelming reason not to have them, after all.

2. "If it weren't for the Emperor, the Empire wouldn't be on Tatooine in the first place." This isn't necessarily a bad thing. It seems like the area is better defended since the PT. Also, slavery seems to have disappeared. Doesn't seem like a bad development to me.

3. I don't think the Empire is good, or really justifiable. I just think that many of their positions can be rationally justified. That is, Lucas doesn't do a very good job of convincing us that it's evil. This isn't so much his fault as one of the genre.

 

Also, slavery seems to have disappeared.

Not if you ask Oola.

 

Well, obviously. But the Hutts seem to have been very much marginalized. In TPM, they seemed to be the honored citizens, whereas in ANH they seem very much like criminals--powerful criminals, but criminals in hiding nonetheless.

It's like the difference between Donald Trump and Al Capone.

 

I really wish that this was an EU forum, because I'd like to point out how flawed the thinking is that slavery has been abolished under the Empire. However, I can point to ANH to at show the de-humanizing of aliens (odd choice of words, I know) under the Empire. When Luke and Han are escorting Chewie up to the prison level, the Imperial officer that questions them refers to Chewie as a 'thing'. Under the Republic, Wookiees were given representation in the same way that all other galactic life is, human and alien included. So to promote hatred towards other species by the most populus species in the galaxy (humans), and thus feeding the Dark Side. This could work towards Palpatine's advantage in that not only would those who would stand up to him be afraid of his retribution, they would also be unable to unite with the nonhuman population because they would have been in so much contact with the 'oppressive humans' (read Empire), that they could very well develop a xenophobia. While I think that Palpatine himself probably was not anti-alien, he could foster that type of thinking to his own benefit. Really a genius pyschological manuever, but pure stinking EVIL.

 

Interesting. Indeed, it is normal for Governments to create weapons of mass destruction (in the post above I was refering to the Death Star, not the Stormtroopers as the afformentioned 'weapon of mass destruction'). After all, look at the countries who have Neuclear weapons; they have them and yet they're not neccesarily evil, not the way the Empire of Star Wars is accused of being. It's a fair and valid point; but there's a drastic difference. The Empire has, if you'll excuse the adjective, evil intentions for their Death Star. I think it's clear to the Rebels that the Empire is going to use the Death Star, which gives them every right to go to war against the Empire.

After all, they did end up blowing up Alderaan, a planet with NO weapons, just for target practice, and to show the Galaxy not to question their authority. It's not really accurate to compare it to nations of our world simply having weapons of mass destruction. A better analogy would be if America nuked New Zealand for no other reason than target practice, and to show the rest of the world who's boss.

One can also say that the nations of Earth having Nukes is evil. I'm not one of those that parade about on the issue and sign up for Greenpeace, but I do believe it's a valid issue. There's a certian distinction between justification and evil. You could say a nation is justified in having nukes because other nations have them, and they need their own for a sense of protection, and the the first nation that had them was from fear of oppression from other nations. Yet that doesn't stop it from being evil. Governments with weapons designed to wipe out entire cities is undoubtedly an evil thing, even if it's justified in some way. The fact that you can, some of the time, justify evil is what makes evil so evil

However, where is the justification for the Empire? Why did Palpatine build the Death Star? There's no suggestion that it was to destory the Rebellion, they seemed just as capable of doing that without a Death Star as with one, except in the case of the Battle of Endor when the Rebel Fleet was unwittingly laid out infront of it. The dialogue in ANH suggests that the Death Star is there for control. It's not like there's another Empire next door with a Death Star of its own. The Death Star is there as a tool of oppresion for the Governments own people. In any terms of speech, that th ing is a symbol of evil.

I do think you guys are making some good points, even though I'm inclined to disagree with those points.

When Luke and Han are escorting Chewie up to the prison level, the Imperial officer that questions them refers to Chewie as a 'thing'. Under the Republic, Wookiees were given representation in the same way that all other galactic life is, human and alien included.

Interestingly Leia also calls Chewie a "walking carpet". Is she a racist too? On one hand she's one of the good guys, a leader of the Rebellion. But on the other she's been serving as a memeber of the Imperial sentate, perhaps now without aliens? Or maybe it's just a quippy line of dialogue that I'm reading into too much.

 

The Emperor is evil. His Empire is not necessarily evil. That's why, in the EU at least, the Remnant is able to ally itself with the New Republic to fight against the Vong. The Empire under Palpatine would never have done that.

The Empire, IMO, is probably a better system of government for rule on a glactic scale for one reason: It has the biggest millitary one can possibly imagine; while the Republic before the Clone Wars had, what, a handful of diplomatic cruisers and a few Jedi Knights? If the Seperatists had been formed and the war began and the clones hadn't been discovered, the Republic would have been burnt to ashes within weeks.

 

"A better analogy would be if America nuked New Zealand for no other reason than target practice, and to show the rest of the world who's boss. "

I think a better analogy in this case was if the US nuked one little village in new zeland with 100 people in. Given the size of the empire alderan was insignificant.

 

Country or villiage, you see what happens next time a few thousand people get murdered on Earth. I think you'll find that people don't say "Meh, the people who did this weren't really that evil..."