When we look into the reign of the Galactic Empire, there are two popular narratives that
almost seem to contradict one another.
The first, is that every world under Imperial rule was subjected to brutal, autocratic repression.
There were stormtroopers stationed on every street, tie fighters tore across every sky,
and the individual liberty of citizens was severely curtailed to preserve state security
and the New Order.
The second narrative is that Imperial rule was marked by lawlessness.
Criminal syndicates acted with impunity, waring with one another in the streets, and terrorizing
entire worlds.
Can these two perspectives be reconciled?
How could the Galactic Empire simultaneously have been a tyrannical police state and a
haven for the criminal underworld?
Why did the Empire seemingly tolerate them?
To answer this, we first need to cut through Imperial propaganda.
Authoritarian regimes like the Empire have developed a reputation for being particularly
effective in combating crime.
When the state has a flexible relationship with things like due process, presumed innocence,
and is more open to shooting first and asking questions later, it would certainly be that
much harder to be a successful criminal right?
Well, yes and no.
Generally, repressive police states are somewhat better at preventing robberies, murders, and
other types of violent crimes.
There are tighter restrictions on the individual ownership of firearms, and much larger security
forces.
But these same states become particularly vulnerable to white-collar crime and internal
corruption.
By placing restrictions on the open market and cutting off the free movement of goods,
the conditions for a black market are created.
The second the Empire blocks off Mimban, someone is going to try and smuggle out some Mimbanese
hyperbaric.
Multiply that by a few thousand worlds, and even the Empire is going to have a real problem
counteracting it.
So while some amount of organized crime was inevitable under the Imperial system, how
the Empire responded reflected a rather pragmatic approach.
In areas in which Imperial control was distant or ineffective, like in the traditionally
rugged, frontier worlds of the Outer Rim Territories, the Empire preferred to work with criminal
groups rather than attempting to eradicate them.
And the advantages of this policy are clear.
Instead of directing the resources and manpower necessary to establish institutions and garrison
forces on worlds whose importance within the Empire might not justify the expense, local
criminal organizations with those institutions and forces already in place could be leveraged.
In this way, the Empire can keep up the appearance of meeting its obligations on even the most
distant worlds, but at greatly reduced expense.
The Empire gets to fly their flag, get a gartunee from some crime boss that there'll be no worker
strikes, and the criminal organizations are allowed to continue operating.
Both sides profit.
But there’s disadvantages to this policy as well, and they tend to intensify over time.
The first is that while these arrangements are likely not public and probably not even
officially documented, these criminal groups are legitimized.
Whatever activity they’re involved with, slavery, spice smuggling, piracy, it’s likely
to intensify now free from government scrutiny.
Again, in distant star systems in the Outer Rim, this might not be a huge issue to the
Galactic Empire, merely the cost of doing business, but it can also begin to erode the
pretense of Imperial governance and disproportionately benefit the underworld.
This is compounded by the fact that even among autocratic regimes, the Imperial system is
uniquely vulnerable to internal corruption.
By dissolving the Imperial Senate and giving regional governors direct authority, Emperor
Palpatine removed the last vestiges of the Galactic Republic, but he also crippled of
the few institutions capable of reacting to and addressing government abuses.
If you’re a governor of a key Imperial system in the Core Worlds, you’ve probably got
it made.
In addition to your official government salary, the Emperor is probably gifting you credits,
estates, tax exemptions, and noble titles in exchange for your complete loyalty.
But if you’re in charge of a frontier colony, lacking resources and prestige and sharing
administrative duties with criminal organizations, you’re in a perfect position to be bribed
and manipulated by the underworld.
And unless you’re a firm believer in the Imperial cause, you might not have too much
of a reason to resist, especially if you’re likely to be murdered if you refuse.
There'll be no Senate Committee on Improper Activities after all, so the risk to your
career is negligible.
In cases like this, Imperial control becomes meaningless.
Sure the Imperial flag is still flying., but whatever the terms were of that original arrangement,
criminal organizations now have the leverage to sidestep them through bribes and favors.
Without any higher Imperial oversight, criminal gangs can run rampant through sensitive military
manufacturing centers, and uncooperative regional governors can be murdered with impunity.
Only the most widespread abuses will likely come to the attention of the Empire, and even
then, it’s a big galaxy and the Imperial starfleet has many other duties more pressing
than corruption in the Outer Rim.
It’s hard to know exactly how aware and concerned the Empire was by these abuses of
power in its outlying territories.
They might not have appreciated the full extent of the problem, but probably had some idea
of what was going on.
So why tolerate it?
I think it ultimately comes down to the fact that utilizing the underworld was the cheapest
method of maintaining control, or even the appearance of control.
But this was also likely a temporary measure.
I don’t believe the Empire intended this policy to remain in perpetuity.
Once the Core Worlds were consolidated and the Rebellion crushed, fleets of Star Destroyers
would have been deployed to the Outer Rim, breaking the power of the largest criminal
organizations and establishing more centralized and effective Imperial institutions.
But that of course is just my opinion.
And even though I’ve been thoroughly bribed and nothing can change my mind, I’d like
to hear your thoughts.
Was this an effective measure of establishing even temporary control across the Outer Rim?
Can working with criminal organizations ever be justified?
Would you accept bribes as an Imperial governor on some backwater?
Let me know in the comments below, and until next time, this has
been Incoming.