I been thinking about the Empire from Star Wars lately. If they had won, how long would have last?

[Slayven]

I think a smooth century and some change, given how much the Emperor had in the tank and Vader lifespan. Too much load was put at the top for it to lasted long term. Sure he had a bunch of loyal rank and file, but we know the true power is the paperwork. Making the trains run on time, and I don't see the empire having that.

 

[B-Dubs]

It would have lasted until Palpatine died and then descended into civil war, assuming he didn't pick a successor (which he likely wouldn't given his goal to live forever or die trying).

 

[Miamiwesker]

It would be the dynasty from foundation, emperor being cloned forever. Without Jedi only way he is being taken down it's from within, Vader killing him. Vader not as cunning so that empire wouldn't last as long.

 

[BossAttack]

If Palpatine figured out immortality, probably a pretty long time. The ineptitude of the writing of the Sequel Trilogy makes it clear that the Empire, for all its terribleness, was an organized machine. Real life Nazi Germany was not well organized, it was a complete mess; they just kept good paperwork of their messiness. The Old Republic and The New Republic were so inept that they didn't even have a standing military force to deal with external threats.

 

[MyDudeMango]

C'mon now, we all know Palpatine's lifespan obviously won't be an issue.

 

[Sobriquet]

Now you got me thinking about what Vader's lifespan would've been

 

[Bizazedo]

If they had won, maybe 155 billion wouldn't have died when the Hosnian system exploded. Something to think about.

Or maybe more. Who knows. New Republic census isn't super accurate.

 

[Saucycarpdog]

Until these guys showed up

 

[I am a Bird]

After the emperor dies the regional governors will have direct control over their territories.

 

[Slayven]

Until these guys showed up

Click to shrink...

RIP Chewie

 

[kowhite]

It would've lasted a long time in a galaxy far far away.

 

[Ashes of Dreams]

I mean from what we've seen of the Empire, they had PLENTY of people working on making sure everything ran smoothly. One of the things I like so much about Andor is us actually getting more of a look at high class life and Empire loyalists beyond the ominous meeting of villains we'd get in the movies. There's no reason to suspect they were poorly run.

That being said, I think their downfall was always an inevitability. Even if they won against the Rebel Alliance, eventually another one would rise up.

 

[hikarutilmitt]

Look at how long they've lasted, what they've done, even _after_ they lost.

 

[mbpm]

Unlimited length of time!

 

[Hella]

Palpatine's plan all along was to, apparently, mastermind a takeover of a peaceful republic and descend it into an empire of war through a decades-long, machiavellian scheme, while counting on the fact that he would die, and have his empire dismantled, so before he did this he created a much larger, stronger, and seemingly undefeatable empire in the outer rim to rush in and conquer the new republic and usher in a second empire of war.

And in the Threequel Trilogy when we learn Rey's child is Palpatine reborn and he ascends to lead the Jedi & New New Republic, we we finally see the genius in his plans. It all played into his hands (until Vader's clone defeats him with the help of his clone-son clone Luke and ushers in a new age of peace...). But Palpatine foresaw this and--...

 

[PBalfredo]

Much of the Empire is built on internal competition in order to keep any potential rivals for the throne preoccupied. This applies to both some of the Sith shit modeled off of the Rule of Two, as well as for the more mundane parts of the Empire, like how Tarkin was ready to roll up Hemlock's operation just to fund his own pet project. So depends on how well Palpatine could keep a lid on a boiling pot, and it certainly doesn't hurt to have things like the Force or unlimited body-swap clones. Seems to me like a plan that works until it suddenly doesn't. But even then that's a case of the emperor is dead, long live the new emperor. So if the question is how long does the Empire last until it's not the Empire any more, without the rebellion or another outside force? Hard to say.

 

[IMCaprica]

I think Vader still eventually turns on Palpatine a year or so after Luke's death. Whether or not he kills Palpatine determines the length. I think if Vader kills Palpatine the empire doesn't last more than maybe 5 years after ROTJ.

If Palpatine kills Vader who knows. It doesn't matter how powerful and scary he is; he won't be able to shake the perception that he's weakened. Being the emperor who lost two super weapons, barely survived the rebellion, and lost Vader and Tarkin means the underlings are already plotting his demise.

It gets really interesting if Palpatine can hang on until Thrawn returns. Regardless of how that shakes out I think the empire itself (not necessarily Palpatine) lasts a long time. They at least survive beyond the time of the sequel trilogy.

 

[Yukari]

It would have lasted until Palpatine died and then descended into civil war, assuming he didn't pick a successor (which he likely wouldn't given his goal to live forever or die trying).

Click to shrink...

He does.

Gallius Rax

Gallius Rax, once known as Galli and code-named Operator, was a male human who became the Counselor to the Empire during the last days of the Galactic Empire. Mentored by Darth Sidious—Sith Lord and Galactic Emperor—Rax ascended through the ranks of the Imperial Navy, gaining command of the...

starwars.fandom.com

 

[Bengraven]

I bet the Empire supplied the Rebellion at first.

They knew war was good for consolidating power eventually. They let their aristocrats get fat and happy off of the "peace" the Empire brings in the first couple years, then a rebellion is good for moral and funds.

 

[Burly]

What does the Emporer even like to do with all his power, anyways?

Like before when he was a senator he seemed to have the usual socialite life, wear fancy clothes, live in a castle, go to water bubble gymnastics shows, etc.

Does melted-face Palpy still throw dinner parties? Or does he just brood now?

 

[The Quentulated Mox]

Sure he had a bunch of loyal rank and file, but we know the true power is the paperwork. Making the trains run on time, and I don't see the empire having that.

Click to shrink...

You should check out this little show called Andor

 

[Slayven]

You should check out this little show called Andor

Click to shrink...

You know the last star wars content i watched was the Bill Burr ep of mando. Before that I loved Rebels

 

[Yukari]

Does melted-face Palpy still throw dinner parties? Or does he just brood now?

Click to shrink...

Beside the senate chamber, He barely goes public.

 

[Quinton]

All I know is Hari Seldon has a contingency plan for when it falls.

 

[Gavalanche]

A civil war would have been fun to see. That could have been one way they took it in the sequels, but for whatever reason they made General Hux a moron. Snoke dying and it splintering off from that could have bern better rather than just bringing the Emperor back randomly.

 

[roguebubble]

Depends on if Palpatine figures out immorality and then how more power he would gain over control of the Force afterwards. Cause with the force following through all living things if Palpatine is able to gain complete control over it then in theory with enough power he could force his will on everyone, even if it's just putting everyone else in a perpetual state of fear as he becomes essentially a God Emperor of the galaxy. That would leave just a droid rebellion or perhaps an alliance of other force phenomena beings like the Bendu as the only ways to overthrow him

 

[PsionBolt]

It didn't seem to take a particularly large or well-equipped (on a galactic scale, anyway) rebel force to take them down in canon, so I'm sure another one would have sprouted from some out-of-the-way, uncaringly-opressed star system eventually. All it takes is getting lucky once or twice, and boom, no more Death Star, no more Emperor or Vader, radically different galactic landscape.

...That said, while the name of the team in charge would change, the Star Wars universe seems extremely resistant to actual meaningful political change, so whatever government came after the Empire probably wouldn't look that different in practice. It would honestly probably employ a lot of the same people, even, with unchanged views. I suppose it ultimately comes down to what you mean by the Empire "lasting".

 

[antispin]

Do we have any concrete information on what the Sith want? Is Palpy a Sith with a certain personal goal, or is it a shared Sith agenda: to rule over the galaxy. Do dark side users sync towards a shared goal? Has any of this been explored in the EU?

 

[duckroll]

What does "if they had won" mean in this context? How do you win a resistance against your existence? Even if Luke failed, someone would always oppose the Empire.

 

[egg]

What does the Emporer even like to do with all his power, anyways?

Like before when he was a senator he seemed to have the usual socialite life, wear fancy clothes, live in a castle, go to water bubble gymnastics shows, etc.

Does melted-face Palpy still throw dinner parties? Or does he just brood now?

Click to shrink...

He was rarely seen in public. He was searching Sith and Jedi temples for relics. Collecting them and finding ways to become even more powerful, potentially immortal.

What does "if they had won" mean in this context? How do you win a resistance against your existence? Even if Luke failed, someone would always oppose the Empire.

Click to shrink...

Yeah but Luke was the only one that could take down the two Sith Lords. Had he died, there would have been no one else honestly. Plaptine already had contingency plans if he had died and they would have likely picked off the remaining leaders of the Rebellion.

 

[Qikz]

He does.

Gallius Rax

Gallius Rax, once known as Galli and code-named Operator, was a male human who became the Counselor to the Empire during the last days of the Galactic Empire. Mentored by Darth Sidious—Sith Lord and Galactic Emperor—Rax ascended through the ranks of the Imperial Navy, gaining command of the...

starwars.fandom.com

Click to shrink...

I don't understand why Sheev wanted the empire destroyed after he was dead - was it purely out of spite because he couldn't lead it?

 

[duckroll]

Yeah but Luke was the only one that could take down the two Sith Lords. Had he died, there would have been no one else honestly. Plaptine already had contingency plans if he had died and they would have likely picked off the remaining leaders of the Rebellion.

Click to shrink...

Luke was the only one when he was the one available, who could take out the Sith because of how the nature of the Force guiding the universe works in the lore and world setting established in Star Wars. As he and Anakin are both "chosen" for this purpose, the Force guides circumstances to give them both the best opportunity should they will it, to fulfil their purpose. If they had failed, the Force guiding the universe would simply course correct in some different way.

It's fine if Palpatine picks off all the remaining leaders of the Rebellion. One Rebel Alliance can fall, at some point another will rise up. The only way the Empire can have no violent opposition is if they functionally do not warrant it. In any governing system that is oppressive, resistance is not a matter of "if" but "when."

 

[OneTrueJack]

If you're looking for an in canon answer, then it's however long it takes to ready the Sith Fleet an Exogul. So maybe a few extra years after Episode VI?

Even by the time of Episode VI, Palpatine was pretty much done with the Imperial Empire and its systems of bureaucracy. Having set in place the means to burn the entire thing down, and move its most radical members over to rule under the Sith.

Palpatine's end goal was a Sith Empire, backed by an unstoppable fleet, with him ruling eternally as an immortal Emperor. The Imperial Empire was just a stepping stone towards that.

Although, if we take the view that the Imperial Empire, First Order and Sith Eternal are all broadly the sane thing, then the answer is...forever. It would rule forever. Those are the established, in-universe stakes.

 

[pants]

The least believable thing about Star Wars is that the Empire loses.

 

[OneTrueJack]

I don't understand why Sheev wanted the empire destroyed after he was dead - was it purely out of spite because he couldn't lead it?

Click to shrink...

I explained it more above but yeah, the Imperial Empire was always just a stepping stone toward his true ambitions of a Sith Empire. By the time of the OT he was already mostly done with it and getting ready to burn the whole thing down.

 

[Yukari]

Do we have any concrete information on what the Sith want? Is Palpy a Sith with a certain personal goal, or is it a shared Sith agenda: to rule over the galaxy. Do dark side users sync towards a shared goal? Has any of this been explored in the EU?

Click to shrink...

Sith want Immortal. Ruled the Galaxy is more or less about their idealistic/Ideology (Galaxy need Order)

I don't understand why Sheev wanted the empire destroyed after he was dead - was it purely out of spite because he couldn't lead it?

Click to shrink...

He want punish and find the true loyal.

 

[T002 Tyrant]

I dunno America and other colonial countries are still around. 🤷‍♀️

 

[Tavernade]

If Palps died without the cloning bit, I think it would have gone downhill pretty fast. He kept the rest of the empire at each others' throats for advancement. Civil War would have weakened them all and since he prioritised loyalty over skill the remnant would have been pretty easy to overthrow. If not from a rebellion than from a conglomeration of the crime lords the empire had been cozy with.

With the cloning bit… power is too centralized. Eventually something would happen, whether that be an invasion from another galaxy or some crazy new tech or a splinter faction or the reemergence of the Jedi.

The least believable thing about Star Wars is that the Empire loses.

Click to shrink...

I mean, they're a pretty corrupt government that would rather spend their money on, essentially, money sinks with dubious use than basic safety for their own forces.

 

[Yukari]

The least believable thing about Star Wars is that the Empire loses.

Click to shrink...

If Palps died without the cloning bit, I think it would have gone downhill pretty fast. He kept the rest of the empire at each others' throats for advancement. Civil War would have weakened them all and since he prioritised loyalty over skill the remnant would have been pretty easy to overthrow. If not from a rebellion than from a conglomeration of the crime lords the empire had been cozy with.

With the cloning bit… power is too centralized. Eventually something would happen, whether that be an invasion from another galaxy or some crazy new tech or a splinter faction or the reemergence of the Jedi.



I mean, they're a pretty corrupt government that would rather spend their money on, essentially, money sinks with dubious use than basic safety for their own forces.

Click to shrink...

Compared to Canon Empire Post EP.6 does pretty well in Legend. They still keep Fighting the New Republic (Thrawn, Palpatine Return, etc) until Pellaeon decides to make peace with them and go join against the Vong and Lumiya's Sith Order.

 

[Jedi2016]

Depends on your point of view.

I'd say that they did win, at the end of ROTS. And they lasted about twenty-five years or so.

 

[PhaZe 5]

The Empire fomented more anger than the Old Republic and countered that by being more brutal and decisive. The galaxy is too big to control even with the Empire's forces. The Deathstar was the tool that was meant to put the fear of god into people...and basically three such super weapons got blown up in a span of like 50 years.

I don't think it would have lasted long. The Rule of Two is also deeply flawed.

 

[Tygre]

If the Empire won?

They did win. The end of RotS is the Empire winning.

The Galactic Empire lasted for ~20 years, give or take what exactly you consider the start and end point.

 

[Tony72495]

Now you got me thinking about what Vader's lifespan would've been

Click to shrink...

I'm thinking about Vader because I just fought him in Jedi Survivor and like damn man, he's like Voldemort or something, he gets up engulfed in flames and just continues fighting like nothing happened.