Dictators in History and Star Wars

George Lucas once said, “All democracies turn into dictatorships–but not by coup.” The people give their democracy to a dictator, whether it’s Julius Caesar or Napoleon or Adolf Hitler. Ultimately, the general population goes along with the idea. What kinds of things push people and institutions in this direction? That’s the issue I’ve been exploring: how did the Republic turn into the Empire? How does a good person go bad, and how does a democracy become a dictatorship? (Yoda Strikes Back).

In light of this year’s intense, anger fueled and at times, laughable presidential race, I thought this would be the perfect time to touch on the topic of: how certain democracies in the past have morphed into dictatorships. This is something that was also used as a model for how Chancellor Palpatine was elected, and how he “reorganized” the Republic into “the first Galactic Empire”. I was reminded of the previous quote by Lucas when I was having a somewhat heated political debate at work earlier this month. I’d like to keep my own political feelings private, but that night I remembered this quote and thought, it’d be really appropriate to talk about it here and now.

To touch base on what Lucas was saying; the population of a country, usually under grave circumstances, willingly hands over power to a dictator, with promises of renewing their country’s pride or bringing order to the people. Lucas brought up three examples of dictators that have ruled their country with an iron fist, so after a little research I wanted to talk about each of them, and maybe show some parallels between them and Chancellor Palpatine.

I want to start with the earliest example I have and that is Julius Caeser. We all know Caeser as a Roman Empire until his death in 45 BC. In 49 BC, after leading his men across the Rubicon River and forcing a Civil War, Caeser retreated to southern Italy and from there advanced to Rome to set up a rump Senate and declared himself dictator (MacManus). This is reminiscent of Palpatine using war as an excuse to elevate his status to dictator.

In 46 BC, Caeser was unchallenged; he stated in a letter that his political aims were “tranquility for Italy, peace for the provinces, and security for the Empire. (MacManus). Sound familiar? By this time Caeser would often announce his decisions to the Senate and have them entered on the record as senatorial decrees without debate or vote (MacManus).

Next on our dictator timeline is Napoleon. Napoleon was the Emperor of France from 1804-1814. Much like Palpatine, Napoleon came to power because his name provided a new source of authority (Cobban). Much of the reason Napoleon obtained the title as dictator was because of those who supported him: the propertied classes, the financiers and commercial men, the upper bourgeoisie, and speculators (Cobban). This still happens today where we have the wealthy supporting certain political parties, as long as their interests coincide. Emperor Palpatine also used wealthy senators and bureaucrats for political gain, and once elected, he disposed of them in underhanded ways.

 

Lastly, Adolf Hitler and the rise of the Nazi Regime. After WWI, Germany was forced to pay reparations which led to a population of Germans feeling ashamed and angry. Those military and political leaders who were responsible claimed that Germany had been “stabbed in the back” by left-wing politicians, Communists, and Jews (Holocaust Encyclopedia). This mirrors Order 66, in which the Jedi were blamed for the fall of the Republic, and were then hunted down to near extinction. Enter Hitler, who in 1919 joined a small political party, and through his captivating speeches, he encouraged national pride, militarism, and a commitment to the Volk and a racially “pure” Germany (Holocaust Encyclopedia). This is also reminiscent of Palpatine’s racially infused Empire that discriminated against, and promoted violence towards non-humans, instilling a heavy human presence in his military. Two years into his Chancellorship, Hitler brought the culture, the economy, education, and law under Nazi control.

That’s it for today’s history lesson. I hope you’ve enjoyed it. I had fun doing the research for this blog.

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*Cobban, Alfred. Dictatorship–Its History & Theory: Napoleon as Dictator. n.d. Web. 16 May 2016.

**Holocaust Encyclopedia. Foundations of the Nazi State. 29 January 2016. Web. 2016 May 2016.

***MacManus, Barbara F. Julius Caeser: Historical Background. March 2011. Web. 16 May 2016.

****University of South Florida. Rise of the Nazi Power. 2005. Web. 16 May 2016.
“Yoda Strikes Back.” TIME 6 May 2002. Print.