If thrawn is confirmed as canon, then what does that mean for other species than humans in the Imperial military? Are near-humans A-OK? What about others?

And what is the deal with non-human siths and force-users in the Empire, like the inquisitors?... Weren`t all the Hands of the Emperor human?

Does the Force make the exceptions in the case of the alien inquisitors and how is that presented to the rest of the force-denying Empire?...

Are some species seen as equal to humans, or is this thing just one of the the classical self-contradictions all evil empires and dictatorships seemingly need to have a few of?...

The sexism is all gone from the empire, so why not the speciesism? I believe Palpatine still had his chagrian major-domo well into the beginning of the empire.

Honestly, I don't recall any of the new canon that says non-humans are the bad guys, only those that don't submit to the empires will.

In the old EU the empire was very much pro human at the expense of aliens. And as a rule the military was Human/ Clone only. Thrawn was very much the exception along with a handful of others. It wasn't until after Palpatine's death that the empire realised "hey, if we treared non humans better and let them serve in the military, we might be a larger force."

In the old EU the empire was very much pro human at the expense of aliens. And as a rule the military was Human/ Clone only. Thrawn was very much the exception along with a handful of others. It wasn't until after Palpatine's death that the empire realised "hey, if we treared non humans better and let them serve in the military, we might be a larger force."

Spartan Dude pretty much nailed it. Also remember that one of the major influences George Lucas drew from for the Empire was the Nazis, right down to calling the Imperial shock troops Stormtroopers (the name given to the notorious Nazi SS). You'll also note that in both Rebels and the original movies, all Imperial military personnel shown were humans. Thrawn is the only known exception to this.

As for the various non-human Inquisitors, they're another matter, since they're directly subordinate to Vader and the Emperor, and completely outside the Imperial military chain of command. The Emperor seeks to control all Force users, (or see them destroyed if he cannot control them). It doesn't matter if said Force user is alien or human. You either serve the Emperor or you die.

Well, DICE's Star Wars Battlefront is tied to canon (although I would be hesitant to claim it as canon story telling, but it's closer than anything else any more). The Rebels have various alien species for character creation, but Imperials only have human.

George Lucas told a WW2 story in the originals and sort of an American Civil War story in the prequels (which really raises a ton of questions, since outside of talk radio we don't generally see the Union as a sort of Nazi Empire, but there you go.)

As so many people these days will tell you, it was all about State Rights and not about race at all. /sarcasm

Do non-Humans serve in the Imperial military? With only a small handful of exceptions, no. There's probably no legal justification for it under Imperial law as that would be way too obvious, just a practice of turning away non-Humans from the Imperial Military Academies.

However, there are non-Human Inquisitors and collaborators - the Vichy French of the Star Wars universe - who serve the Imperial bureaucracy.

If thrawn is confirmed as canon, then what does that mean for other species than humans in the Imperial military? Are near-humans A-OK? What about others?

And what is the deal with non-human siths and force-users in the Empire, like the inquisitors?... Weren`t all the Hands of the Emperor human?

Does the Force make the exceptions in the case of the alien inquisitors and how is that presented to the rest of the force-denying Empire?...

Are some species seen as equal to humans, or is this thing just one of the the classical self-contradictions all evil empires and dictatorships seemingly need to have a few of?...

I doubt the Empire's position on "human supremacy" will change much, even with this revelation.

I've always read the Empire's policies or culture of human supremacy as a political tool rather than a reflection of the Emperor's true beliefs: it's a way to manipulate feeble minds into doing what you want or need. As with Bounty Hunters, the Empire is willing to employ non-humans when it suits them, with no compunctions: the same is evidently true with force users, who bring a power to the table irrespective of race (cf. Asajj Ventress). Within positions of supreme military authority, I think the same argument could be made: Thrawn is the exception, but only because he is useful.

So to answer your last question: yes, I believe that this is a contradiction that is a necessary reflection of the complexity of a galactic empire. Also keep in mind that some officers (like Sagoro Autem from the "Loyalties" comic -- admittedly on the Legends side) were never comfortable with this tendency towards human supremacy. So it's more of a way to maintain power and authority over the military, than it is a reflection of the leadership's true beliefs.

As far as the inquisitors go, I believe there was a tweet a while back by Pablo Hidalgo saying that they are all tied to the Jedi order in some way but kept it vague.

We know specifically how the Grand Inquisitor was tied to the Jedi but past that, we can only speculate. Could be former Padawans, Jedi hopefuls that never finished their trials, or anyone of various positions and associations with the Jedi order that was force sensitive.

As far as the inquisitors go, I believe there was a tweet a while back by Pablo Hidalgo saying that they are all tied to the Jedi order in some way but kept it vague.

We know specifically how the Grand Inquisitor was tied to the Jedi but past that, we can only speculate. Could be former Padawans, Jedi hopefuls that never finished their trials, or anyone of various positions and associations with the Jedi order that was force sensitive.

But all Emperor`s Hands were human, right? I only found humans when I searched in any case. It is irrelevant really, but the Hand adversary card has a non-human as a picture I believe.

Remember the new canon change. The Inquisitors made the trip over to Disney's canon, which GroggyGolem's information applies to. The Emperor's Hands haven't yet made that trip.

Honestly, if there is indeed an eliteism to be found in the Empire, it would be from the Core Worlds, which seem to be overwhelmingly human populated. As Stated earlier, Mas Amedda, a chagrian (huge horns, blue skin and forked tongue) is all buddy buddy with the Emperor, apparently he is head of the imperial council, as well aa being privvy to some of Sheev Palpatine's secrets.

Heck, with how mandalore is being treated, it is not unlikely that there could be loyalists of alien species that have their own fighting styles. Truly, if imperial Mandalore can alter is culture to extol palpatines empire, why couldn't an "alien" species as well?

Honestly, if there is indeed an eliteism to be found in the Empire, it would be from the Core Worlds, which seem to be overwhelmingly human populated. As Stated earlier, Mas Amedda, a chagrian (huge horns, blue skin and forked tongue) is all buddy buddy with the Emperor, apparently he is head of the imperial council, as well aa being privvy to some of Sheev Palpatine's secrets.

Heck, with how mandalore is being treated, it is not unlikely that there could be loyalists of alien species that have their own fighting styles. Truly, if imperial Mandalore can alter is culture to extol palpatines empire, why couldn't an "alien" species as well?

There are a couple of alien species that actually like the Empire.

Doesn't mean that much of the Empire likes them back, but maybe they won't get to feel it as much. I really doubt that the Nazis were particularly frank about their racist thoughts on the Japanese.

There are a couple of alien species that actually like the Empire.

The Trandoshans, for one. And probably the Chevin.

Given that the Imperial Navy and Army are built on the foundation of the Republic Navy and Army, I'd say that recruitment practices largely stem from those older organizations.

To rationalize the singular species policy: it was found that a singular species fighting force (i.e. all of them clones + non-clone commanders and the like) was the most effective overall. In some respects this is justified in that it probably greatly simplifies your logistics of food and equipment, probably even tactics and capabilities. Perhaps there were mixed-species battalions all over the Republic, but none of them could beat the efficiency of the main fighting force of human clones and the like. I could see this policy carrying over into Imperial structure.

I'd say that there are indeed alien auxiliaries and the like within the Empire, and most certainly within local defense forces, but not in any way significant.

I'm a bit hazy on the prequels, but I was under the assumption that the Republic did not have a standing unified military at the time of Finis Valorum's chancellorship. That came during Palpatine's term of office.

I assume it worked a bit like NATO. Each member probably has its own military, but they are part of a unified command structure.

Alien Stormtrooper Corp

Footsloggers and soldiers of fortune, priests, poets, killers and cads - they fight for a future Empire, for cash, for a cause, for the thrill of adventure.

Culled from the forgotten and unwanted of the galaxy, the Alien Stormtrooper Corp is sent into the Empire's most desperate internal and external struggles.

Alien Stormtroopers live rough and they die hard, tough as tungsten and loyal to the dirty end.

Alien Stormtrooper Corp

Footsloggers and soldiers of fortune, priests, poets, killers and cads - they fight for a future Empire, for cash, for a cause, for the thrill of adventure.

Culled from the forgotten and unwanted of the galaxy, the Alien Stormtrooper Corp is sent into the Empire's most desperate internal and external struggles.

Alien Stormtroopers live rough and they die hard, tough as tungsten and loyal to the dirty end.

Ahhh, good ol' Legacy. Where the Rebels get shoved into a corner so we can have good guy Imperials, as well as evil Imperials to hate on.

Side Note - How does that Lizardman fit a Trooper Helmet on his head?

Side Note - How does that Lizardman fit a Trooper Helmet on his head?

Very awkwardly.

I'm a bit hazy on the prequels, but I was under the assumption that the Republic did not have a standing unified military at the time of Finis Valorum's chancellorship. That came during Palpatine's term of office.

I assume it worked a bit like NATO. Each member probably has its own military, but they are part of a unified command structure.

I've always kind of chuckled at Finis Valorum's name. Literally translated from Latin it means 'the end of values'. Plus, Valorum is related to the Latin verb meaning 'I am strong' if anyone feels like thinking about that....

I've always read the Empire's policies or culture of human supremacy as a political tool rather than a reflection of the Emperor's true beliefs: it's a way to manipulate feeble minds into doing what you want or need.

Good point. If Palpatine hated aliens that much he probably would never have had a Zabrak apprentice like Maul to continue his legacy.

Really I think the "humans first" policy was to make it easier to oppress citizens of the galaxy, he didn't personally care either way.

Since Humanity has the biggest percentage of the population of this galaxy far far away, by giving those the idea of beeing "supreme" to other races would help good old palpatine to strengthen his base in this majority (and it eases to overlook slavery of non human-races)

Since Humanity has the biggest percentage of the population of this galaxy far far away, by giving those the idea of beeing "supreme" to other races would help good old palpatine to strengthen his base in this majority (and it eases to overlook slavery of non human-races)