Why Does It Seem That Only Humans Work For The Empire? — CultureSlate (2024)

Humans have always been present in Star Wars. Most of the popular stories revolve around humans. They are one of the most common species within the Star Wars universe, so it is no surprise that we see them in everything. That said, it seems only humans work for the Empire, at least, that is how it appeared in Andor.

This could be traced back to Human High Culture, which was the Galactic Empire’s policy of human-centric speciesism. It was basically a long-held belief that humans were the superior species throughout the galaxy. The chief tenet of Human High Culture was the idea that humans were the only intelligent and productive members of society since humans almost exclusively formed and led the Old Republic, and the human core worlds were some of the oldest, richest, and most advanced within the galaxy. The idea of Human High Culture was kept alive even into the New Republic era. This policy was enforced by Imperial groups such as the Coalition for Progress, the Imperial Board of Culture, and Sub-Adult Groups.

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During the time of the Old Republic, the Right of Sentience was the best-known clause of the Galactic Constitution. It spoke out against speciesism, formally outlawed slavery, and that all species were equal, and deserved the same rights as enshrined in the constitution. This clause, however, was eventually repealed under Imperial rule. This led to all non-human species being classified as second-class citizens. It also re-legalized nonhuman slavery.

Many of these same undertones also applied to anti-droid sentiments and anti-female chauvinism, which did not help human females. They were almost universally barred from the higher echelons of power in the Empire’s military and government roles. Palpatine himself was not a speciesist, as it didn’t appear that way. We did see him take Darth Maul as an apprentice, and he trained under Darth Plageius, both of who were not humans. This does not excuse him in any way from being a terrible person. Count Dooku appeared to be a human supremacist, although he might have acquired these ideas later in life, as he was friends with other species as a child. Many of Palpatine’s hand-picked Dark Acolytes were also nonhuman.

It now makes sense why Imperial bureaucracy, like the depiction of the Imperial Security Bureau (ISB) in Andor, was made up solely of humans. The ISB was a faction of the Galactic Empire, and nonhumans were discouraged from participating in government and even the military. There were always exceptions, like Grand Admiral Thrawn. In this case, it depended on your loyalty and your value to the Emporer and the Empire. Those who would devote their cause solely to Palpatine or the Empire were untouched. However, those who did not meet the standard set by Human High Culture were deemed “Non-huMan.” This was the Imperial title for aliens, humanoids, droids, cyborgs, and human females. This idea reached its height in the Imperial Navy before the Battle of Endor.

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