Tarkin Doctrine/Legends

"Fear will keep the local systems in line. Fear of this battle station."

- Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin

The Tarkin Doctrine, also known as the Doctrine of Fear and officially known as Imperial Communiqué #001044.92v, was a message originally sent directly to Emperor Palpatine from then Moff Wilhuff Tarkin. The transmission detailed methods for maintaining order and increasing security within the Galactic Empire. It became one of the most important documents regarding Imperial policy.

Overview
"The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers."

- Princess Leia

The Tarkin Doctrine was an evolutionary concept. It had its roots in 29 BBY, when Raith Sienar presented his plans for the Expeditionary Battle Planetoid to then-Commander Tarkin. Tarkin was fascinated by the concept: as an officer in the Republic Outland Regions Security Force, he had seen the chaos caused by the absence of government in the Outer Rim Territories. To create a navy large enough to police the entire galaxy would be ruinously expensive, and could still be overcome by an opponent making use of hit-and-run strikes and a stateless strategy. Tarkin saw Sienar's design, improved with the addition of a weapon powerful enough to seriously damage a planet, as the solution to this strategic conundrum: no world, he believed, would dare harbor pirates or defy central authority if the punishment was the destruction of their planet.

Tarkin plagiarized Sienar's concept and presented it to Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, who ordered the beginning of research that would eventually lead to the Death Star. Another influence on the development of the Tarkin Doctrine was the creation of the sector armies of the Grand Army of the Republic during the Clone Wars and the re-installation of the office of the Governor-Generals, which overrode existing sector borders

Tarkin presented his complete concept to Emperor Palpatine in 18 BBY. To deal with cross-sector criminal and rebellious activity and the problem of jurisdictional conflicts, the Tarkin Doctrine called for the retooling of the sector armies' areas of operations to create Oversectors, proposing they be tailored to control unstable galactic hot spots and be assigned greater forces than usual in an attempt to root out rebellious activity before it could take hold. Each Oversector, capable of crossing traditional sector boundaries, would be controlled by a single official who answered directly to Palpatine.

The Tarkin Doctrine also called for the cannibalization of the HoloNet and its restriction to the Imperial Navy in order to deny communication to insurgents and to more effectively coordinate Sector Groups. Finally, the cornerstone of the Doctrine was the concept of "rule through fear of force, rather than through force itself". Displays of power, most vitally through the use of terror-inspiring superweapons, would, Tarkin suggested, stifle dissent and rebellion. The presentation of a seemingly invincible weapon of ultimate power would play upon the fearfulness and awe of the citizenry to render all thought of assault against the Empire forgotten. It was therefore Tarkin's recommendation that the Empire invest strongly and continually in the innovation of ever more-powerful weapons of war.

Emperor Palpatine was very impressed with the ideas, so much that all the suggestions were implemented with Tarkin promoted to the new rank of Grand Moff (making him the first of the Grand Moffs). Tarkin's own sector army's theater, the Greater Seswenna, was dramatically expanded to become Oversector Outer, which encompassed most of the Outer Rim Territories. In addition, he was given command of four Sector Groups to crush insurgent activity, and was placed in command of the Death Star project, which fulfilled his philosophy of creating a weapon so powerful no planet would dare countenance resistance. According to the Tarkin Doctrine, once the Death Star was active, no one would dare act against the Empire. Terror at the prospect of planetary annihilation would ensure compliance and order.

The Empire was ultimately unsuccessful in instilling the fear necessary to keep the galaxy in line. Palpatine increasingly changed Tarkin's original words to his own meaning, "Rule through fear instead of through idealistic government agencies". Consequently, with the Death Star fully operational in 0 BBY, he dissolved the Imperial Senate with the battle station to be the principal source of Imperial control in the Outer Rim. However, the Death Star produced the exact opposite of its intended result&mdash;instead of cowering under the threat of such a weapon, the people viewed its victims (particularly the unarmed planet Alderaan) as martyrs and rallied to the Rebellion's cause, especially after the Death Star's destruction at the Battle of Yavin. Further Imperial attempts to enact the doctrine with projects like the Tarkin, a stripped-down superlaser named in honor of the martyred Grand Moff, and the even larger Second Death Star, met with destruction in concerted Rebel strikes. The Empire was thus left in the same strategic conundrum the Tarkin Doctrine had been formulated to correct, and through the Galactic Civil War the Imperial Navy was never able to bring enough ships to bear to properly police the Outer Rim.

Behind the scenes
The full text of Imperial Communiqu&eacute; #001044.92v first appeared in the Imperial Sourcebook. The text above is from the Death Star Technical Companion, which has different wording from the Imperial Sourcebook version while retaining much of the same meaning. The Death Star Owner's Technical Manual shows yet another, significantly shorter, version of this communiqu&eacute;.

Appearances

 * Death Star
 * Star Wars: Empire 8: Darklighter, Part 1
 * Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope
 * Star Wars: Force Commander (Game manual)
 * Star Wars: Rebellion
 * Shadow Stalker
 * Galaxy of Fear: Planet Plague
 * Dark Apprentice
 * Dark Apprentice