{"id":447,"date":"2018-11-20T08:38:18","date_gmt":"2018-11-20T13:38:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/postcolonialstarwars\/?page_id=447"},"modified":"2018-12-12T17:24:08","modified_gmt":"2018-12-12T22:24:08","slug":"thomas-van-pelt","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/postcolonialstarwars\/anthology\/fall-2018\/thomas-van-pelt\/","title":{"rendered":"Thomas Van Pelt"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The Means to Impose Imperialism<\/b><\/p>\n

The imperialistic efforts made by large imposing countries with an immense amount of power and the Empire in the <\/span>Star Wars<\/span><\/i> saga can be paralleled through the means by which the oppressors imposed their rule. The best examples are found in the use of genocide and repeated bombings and general attacks in both real life and in Star Wars. The imposition of power and the means to do it include also the overall struggle of power between the colonizer and the colonized. Throughout the globe, minority groups have been subject to terrible events in an effort to oppress entire groups of people. It is these events that allow imperialist powers to remain in a dominant stance throughout history. <\/span>Star Wars<\/span><\/i> tells a story of how a rebellion can perhaps fight back against their colonial oppressors, a notion that is difficult to find in real life historical examples. <\/span><\/p>\n

Russia right after the fall of the Soviet Union is an example of this concept. Much like the Empire, The Soviet Union enjoyed almost hegemonic power over their sphere of the world for decades upon decades. But, this came to an end in the early 1990s. Without the regime whole anymore, Russia was left with a dilemma on their hands if they wished to maintain control of their former subjects. Chechnya was a part of The Soviet Union, but they declared independence in the early 1990s during the fall of the Soviet Union, much to the dismay of Russia. This fight for independence was met with opposition by Russia, and this came to a head in late 1994 when Russian troops invaded Chechnya. This led to the first of two Chechen Wars, in which both sides of the conflict committed unspeakable atrocities, and both sides experienced large losses in numbers. Retroactively, it is recognized that Russia\u2019s efforts in this battle could be considered genocide (Britannica – Chechnya). In an article on <\/span>The Independent<\/span><\/i> in 1996, journalist Phil Reeves outlines the accusations against Russia, \u201c<\/span>Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) accused the Russian forces of blocking humanitarian aid, targeting schools, mosques and hospitals with bombs, and firing on fleeing refugees from helicopters…it was an \u2018urgent call\u2019 to the heads of state to pressure the Russians to stop \u2018gross and systematic targeting of civilians and the violations of humanitarian law in Chechnya\u2019” (Reeves). It was not long after the \u201cend\u201d of this second Chechen conflict when Russia took back partial control of Chechnya through former Chechen separatist leader Akhmad Kadyrov, who switched sides in 1999 and joined Russian attacks on Chechnya. This led to Russia regaining power in the region by 2003, when Kadyrov was elected president of Chechnya.\"\" Since then, the two countries\u2019 relationship has been strained at best. Chechnya remains a federal subject of Russia, but are not actively controlled by the government in Moscow. Nonetheless, Chechnya\u2019s government is Russian at its core, and Russia still maintains control of the region. But, there are numerous examples of Chechen separatist groups committing terrorism attacks throughout Russia since 2005 (Mirovalev).<\/span><\/p>\n

The use of genocide as a tool to establish power and maintain it at the core of the Empire\u2019s rise to their dominant presence at the beginning of the original trilogy.<\/span> Although the quality of the prequels as movies themselves is in question, the events surrounding The Republic, Chancellor Palpatine, and the rise of the Empire are incredibly pertinent to this discussion. The time of the Clone Wars in the Star Wars universe was one that parallels well to many modern day situations like the Soviet Union and Russia. Much like the Soviet Union, the Old Republic enjoyed relatively undisputed power in the galaxy for a long time. But, once Chancellor Palpatine was outed as a villain, and that he had been a part of the resistance led by General Grievous, the Old Republic resorted to dastardly means to gain and maintain control. In <\/span>Attack of the Clones<\/span><\/i>, Palpatine is granted emergency power to deal with the current crisis (Star Wars Episode II). Therefore, the Senate that controlled the Republic lost all powers to Palpatine. But after Palpatine is outed as Darth Sidious, he imposes <\/span>Order 66: Operation Knightfall<\/span><\/i>. This order essentially allowed Sidious to press a button and turn the entire Republic against the Jedi through the clone army that had been working with the Jedi. Darth Sidious\u2019 plans of genocide are completed by Darth Vader. Having succumbed to the dark side, Vader led all of the Jedi like sheep to the Jedi temple on Coruscant, where they were systematically murdered by the Clones. Their bodies were burned, and Empire tightened their grip on the galaxy. Without the powerful Jedi in the galaxy protecting those from the dark side, every citizen of the Republic was subject to the whim of the Empire, because the galaxy was essentially defenseless, until the Rebel Alliance arises and gains power in <\/span>A New Hope. <\/span><\/i>The only survivors were Obi Wan Kenobi and Yoda, who both go into hiding until Luke and Leia are adults. Similar to Chechnya, genocide was the catalyst for the evolution of the Republic into the Empire. It was this one major event that led to the rise of the Empire as a powerful and dangerous dominant force (Episode III).<\/span><\/p>\n