An oppressive dictatorship with a complicated bureaucracy, the Galactic Empire seeks the rule and social control of every planet and civilization within the galaxy, based on anthropocentrism, nationalisation, state terrorism, power projection, and threat of lethal force.

[1] The Galactic Empire's rise was not a violent takeover by force, but rather a calculated dismantling of the Galaxy's most powerful institutions by rewriting constitutional foundations, controlling the Jedi Council, weakening the Senate and the appointment of loyal Governors.

With Emperor Palpatine keeping mostly to the shadows, his Sith apprentice, Darth Vader maintains a more public presence and leads the Imperial forces, acting as a personification of the Galactic Empire's power.

Star Wars creator George Lucas sought to make the First Galactic Empire aesthetically and thematically similar to Nazi Germany and to appear to be fascist.

[2] Similar to Nazi Germany, the Galactic Empire is a dictatorship based on rigid control of society that dissolved a previous democracy and is led by an all-powerful supreme ruler.

[2] In addition to Nazi Germany, there was also at least one portion of the Galactic Empire that was based on the Soviet Union, which is the various military personnel and TIE Fighters that are flying in formation as Palpatine arrives on the second Death Star in Return of the Jedi.

In Episode I: The Phantom Menace, amid a trade dispute and invasion of his homeworld of Naboo,[12] Senator Palpatine convinces Queen Padmé Amidala to call for a vote of no confidence in Supreme Chancellor of the Republic Finis Valorum.

By the time of Episode III, he is effectively a dictator who overstayed his term limits; he exploits the people's fears, systematically rewrites constitutional laws and crushes the institutions that threaten his goals.

[12] He moves on to his final political opposition, the Senate; rather than dismantling it outright, he reduces it to a powerless symbol that exists only as an illusion of representation, and as a echo chamber for his rhetoric.

Palpatine dissolves the Senate (off-camera) in A New Hope after discovering that several members helped found the Rebel Alliance, a guerrilla army dedicated to overthrowing the Empire and restoring the Republic.

Unwilling to embroil himself in the day-to-day running of the Galactic Empire, the Emperor leaves the mundane work to the Imperial Ruling Council (IRC), an advisory body with whom he confers on vital affairs of state.

The cabinet enjoys much power within the government's hierarchy, being responsible for: sanctioning weapons programs (such as the TIE Defender project), supervising the armed forces, forming strategies and organizing expansionary or pacification campaigns.

Imperial High Command's overseer is Darth Vader - also a Sith Lord - who relentlessly pursues the fledging Rebel Alliance, in addition to quelling insurgencies and purging the last of the Jedi Order.

[16] In the series Andor, the Galactic Empire is depicted as arbitrary and cruel in its rule over ordinary people, particularly when it comes to certain agencies such as the Imperial Security Bureau (ISB), which acts as a secret police force.

Consisting of several supervisors overseeing multiple sectors, they are charged with matters of counter-terrorism, criminal investigation, internal affairs, state security, state-sponsored propaganda and ensuring the political loyalty of citizens to the Galactic Empire.

Veteran Colonel Wullf Yularen acts as ISB's main figurehead and spokesman, answering to the likes of Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader and Amedda.

In Star Wars, the Tarkin Doctrine was the plan presented by Tarkin himself to Palpatine in 18 BBY that outlined the Empire's goal and structure: bringing order to the galaxy and restoring rule of law to sectors overtaken by piracy and organized crime, ending destructive conflicts through grand strategy and military doctrine, a plan for maximizing social control and propaganda, maintaining economic order and increasing security in the Galactic Empire.

Tarkin believed the chief factor that contributed most to the demise of the Republic was not, in fact, the war, but rampant self-interest, which left the body politic feckless and corrupt.

For the first time in one thousand generations our sector governors will not be working solely to enrich Coruscant and the Core Worlds, but to advance the quality of life in the star systems that make up each sector — keeping the spaceways safe, maintaining open and accessible communications, assuring that tax revenues are properly levied and allocated to improving the infrastructure.The plan which Palpatine ultimately had implemented in its entirety contained three main principles: territorial consolidation, rapid communication, and coercive diplomacy.

The Empire's central warship cadre is well structured and uniformed, but the Imperial Navy suffers against strike craft, largely due to the inadequacies of its own starfighters and point defense.

In 5 BBY, on the relatively unremarkable planet of Aldhani, a small Rebel team managed to infiltrate the local Imperial depository, stealing a decent portion of the sector payroll.

This created a massive Imperial overreaction, increasing their security spending and draconian law enforcement policies, making all future rebellious activity even more costly and difficult, which is exactly what the mastermind of this heist Luthen Rael wanted.

As portrayed in the animated series Star Wars Rebels and The Bad Batch, the Empire explores ways to weaponize Force-sensitive kyber crystals, which are sacred to the Jedi and are at the core of every lightsaber.

Tarkin's Doctine, meant to perpetually "tighten the noose" and instill fear of being killed for engaging in Rebellion, eventually get overridden by people realizing that no one was actually safe.

In the film's climactic battle, the Rebellion destroys the second Death Star and a number of capital ships that contain a great portion of the Imperial Navy's highest-ranking officers.

[28] By the time of The Mandalorian, set five years after the Battle of Endor, the Galactic Empire no longer exists as an official government or a major power and is essentially a failed state.

One Imperial remnant established a base on the planet Nevarro, where Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin was hired to acquire an asset, later revealed to be a Force-sensitive infant named Grogu.

Djarin later returned to Nevarro, reuniting with his allies Greef Karga and Cara Dune, as well as an unnamed Mythrol, to take down an Imperial facility to eradicate the Empire's presence on the planet.

Djarin led a mission to rescue Grogu, assisted by several allies including Dune, Boba Fett, Fennec Shand, and Mandalorian warrior Bo-Katan Kryze.

With help from a redeemed Ren and the spirits of Jedi past, she resists Palpatine's promises of power and turns his own Force lightning against him, destroying the Sith Lord once and for all.