Tarkin Doctrine and the fall of the Empire

[frigidmagi]

In Star Wars the Empire followed the Tarkin doctrine, which was the belief that it was better to rule through the fear of force than actual force itself. The greatiest expression of this doctrine was the Death Star.

Consider a squadron of Star Destroyers could easily turn a planet into a uninhabited ruin. However they cannot blast a planet into pieces, nor do they carry the same level of sheer unstoppable threat as a small planetoid. There is no great military reason for the construction of the Death Star, its existence is for pure political reasons. To follow the Tarkin Doctrine to its logical end point.

However the Deathstar also provide a target. It was a clear, easily found target that was an concenration of power. Defeat and destory the Deathstar and you strike a very visible blow at the Empire. In fact the defeat of the 2nd deathstar had the end result of defeating the Empire and slaying it's leadership.

I suggest that if the Empire had not embraced the Tarkin Doctrine but had kept its power invested in the fleets of Star Destroyers and Legions of Strom Troops along with it's security personnal and insutitions, the New Republic would never had been born. Before the battle of Yavin, the rebellion scored no major military victories against the Imperial Fleet. It is unlikey that would have changed without the victory over the first Deathstar to serve as a rallying call and proganda piece.

[Hotfoot]

I suppose, in a way, it's an extension of the nuclear "peace" we enjoyed in the Cold War. Sure, we had enough bombs to annihilate cities the old fashioned way, but a single nuke would wipe out a city in a blink of an eye. However, had the original Death Star had adequate support, the Battle of Yavin would have never been a factor.