Galactic Empire

Uncommon card · No. 77554

The Galactic Empire, also known simply as the Empire, is a fictional autocracy featured in the Star Wars franchise. Introduced in the 1977 film Star Wars, it is the main antagonistic faction of the original trilogy, which also includes The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983). The Galactic Empire is portrayed as an anthropocentric, imperialist, and bureaucratic dictatorship which seeks absolute rule and social control over every planet and civilization within the Star Wars galaxy ("the Galaxy"). The Empire pursues these goals by various means, including intimidation, coercion, expropriation, power projection, state terrorism, ethnic cleansing, and genocide. The Galactic Empire's rise was not the result of a revolution or coup, but rather the culmination of gradual erosion of galactic institutions through the end of the Clone Wars, when Palpatine, the Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic, launched a self-coup. At its peak, the Galactic Empire sprawls over much...

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