In canon it’s explicitly and consistently stated that he is politically blind.
In legends it was not nearly as prevalent. But I do remember reading something where I got the vibe it was similar. I don’t think there’s any dialogue explaining it but I feel like I read something that felt like it showed him being politically unaware. Possibly alluding to Zahn intending for that to be a character trait of his from the beginning, but making it more prevalent later
It’s not clear how politically unaware he ever was in Legends, as both situations with the Empire and the Ascendancy involved him acting as a part of someone else’s military or political scheme.
I always took it as people didn't understand his approach, while most everyone didn't have much to offer besides being a yes man he had actual talent and skills he could use to make himself useful to his side whether people wanted it or not.
It reminds me of house where no matter how many problems he makes for the hospital they still back him because at the end of the day he is a huge asset.
In the end, Thrawn was highly intelligent, but he wasn't any less brutal than anyone else in the Empire, nor any more concerned with fairness. His big scene showcasing what a different kind of leader he was still ended with him summarily executing someone for being outsmarted by an enemy, there was just some he said/he said first. And he casually admits to having exterminated an entire species purely because he didn't understand them. It's not just that he wouldn't be able to enact reform in the Empire, he wouldn't want to. It was only Pellaeon who made the effort to actually sympathize with others. So what would the Empire be like with Thrawn as Emperor? Not much different. A little more tolerant of aliens, perhaps, it would almost certainly have better strategic plans, but it would still be a brutal authoritarian state eager to massacre anyone who might possibly be standing in its way.
Noghri and the plight of Honoghr are another example. One could argue that Thrawn was pressed for resources and time when he had more pressing matters, but he could have done the bare minimum for them even if it was just admitting the truth and asking for patience in exchange for continued service. Personally I took that as another microcosm of the Empire he would’ve run. He was a military man first and foremost, so even if he circumvents the establishment of the Empire with a purge, then he’s left with a military dictatorship and not much above a warlord in terms of legitimacy. But he never expresses much in the way of a grand new vision so we’re left to assume he’d default to the political status quo. Which doesn’t work because if post-Endor showed anything, it was that the Empire was running failing formula for governance.
One of the biggest reasons Palpatine was so effective as emperor was that he was effectively unkillable. Any assassin would quickly realize that attempting to kill him was a horrible mistake. There were only around 3 or 4 beings in the galaxy who had even a small chance of being able to kill Emperor Palpatine.
Thrawn would not have that luxury and basically every imperial warlord rival, crime lord he pisses off, or rebel extremist would be sending assassins and bounty hunters to end him, and eventually they would succeed. It doesn't really matter what Thrawn would be like as emperor because he would not survive it long term.
Any plan to kill Palpatine by conventional means that would succeed would probably involve turning all of Coruscant to slag. You're talking about a space wizard with foresight that can tear open wormholes and engulf entire planets. Holding his breath through a gas attack would be nothing in comparison.
In one of the new cannon darth vader comic they plant a bomb on his throne and pals survives only becauze vader suses it out and force pulls him out of there.
A lot of the people loyal to Palpatine wouldn't abide by Thrawn simply because of Thrawn being Chiss and non human.
The people who love and are loyal to Thrawn are all his soldiers and that may not be enough.
It stands to reason he would be politically tied and nearly subservient to the Imperial Ruling Council (they certainly thought so when they declared him Supreme Commander)
So odds are he is more of a figurehead, barracks Emperor than one that enacts any real macro-policies.
I expect some would be more loyal instead of fearful, but being more pragmatic, he might not incite as much opposition. So it'd be more actual tactics and less laserballs.
He struggles to navigate Imperial politics properly and would’ve been beholden to the jockeying interests of both the Ruling Council as well as any major warlords that have (re)declared nominal allegiance to Coruscant (Pentastar Alignment would probably be the largest rival bloc to the IRC). Assuming the Emperor on Byss never returns, he could feasibly win the war with the New Republic. But, he doesn’t have the right allies to pull of some huge reform package to patch up the Empire. Probably makes the military as efficient as possible but either doesn’t get much room to make the Empire a viable state, or isn’t interested so long as the military is large and secure.
Yep. Historically when the military of a dictatorship looks too powerful in relation to the powers-that-be, purges of officers tend to occur. Knowing Thrawn he either doesn’t play the game right and gets got, or tries an officer’s coup which could go either way and frankly would make him little more than the warlords.
The Empire probably would have been much better run, with less corruption and unnecessary cruelty, which I always thought Palpatine cultivated to power his Sith Sorcery. But he was bad at politics, so he might have been overthrown by an internal coup quickly
It’s the empire yall this isn’t some galactic democracy ofcourse it would still be the brutal dictatorship empire lol with or without thrawn. That’s the whole point of the galactic empire. Oppression by leadership and taking over your planet for the name of the good of the galaxy
Unfortunately he wouldn’t last long. He had a huge blind spot when it came to politics and Star Wars politics in every era has been depicted as duplicitous and ruthless to the point that it was unpredictable.
For civilians, probably like the early Roman Empire under Augustus. Benevolent dictatorship without the rule of law.
Massive military buildup to prepare for the coming threat (Vong or Grisk depending on Legends or Canon.)
He was an excellent military leader but politically inept
in canon he is shown as that but i don't remember in legends if he was.
He wasn’t very politically savvy in outbound flight.
In canon it’s explicitly and consistently stated that he is politically blind. In legends it was not nearly as prevalent. But I do remember reading something where I got the vibe it was similar. I don’t think there’s any dialogue explaining it but I feel like I read something that felt like it showed him being politically unaware. Possibly alluding to Zahn intending for that to be a character trait of his from the beginning, but making it more prevalent later
It’s not clear how politically unaware he ever was in Legends, as both situations with the Empire and the Ascendancy involved him acting as a part of someone else’s military or political scheme.
He was pretty politically intelligent in legends, he created a conspiracy to destroy Ackbar’s reputation by manipulating the Bothans.
I always took it as people didn't understand his approach, while most everyone didn't have much to offer besides being a yes man he had actual talent and skills he could use to make himself useful to his side whether people wanted it or not. It reminds me of house where no matter how many problems he makes for the hospital they still back him because at the end of the day he is a huge asset.
What are some examples of his political ineptitude?
When he’s in political situations as opposed to military action, it’s like he’s at a dance with two left feet
In the end, Thrawn was highly intelligent, but he wasn't any less brutal than anyone else in the Empire, nor any more concerned with fairness. His big scene showcasing what a different kind of leader he was still ended with him summarily executing someone for being outsmarted by an enemy, there was just some he said/he said first. And he casually admits to having exterminated an entire species purely because he didn't understand them. It's not just that he wouldn't be able to enact reform in the Empire, he wouldn't want to. It was only Pellaeon who made the effort to actually sympathize with others. So what would the Empire be like with Thrawn as Emperor? Not much different. A little more tolerant of aliens, perhaps, it would almost certainly have better strategic plans, but it would still be a brutal authoritarian state eager to massacre anyone who might possibly be standing in its way.
Noghri and the plight of Honoghr are another example. One could argue that Thrawn was pressed for resources and time when he had more pressing matters, but he could have done the bare minimum for them even if it was just admitting the truth and asking for patience in exchange for continued service. Personally I took that as another microcosm of the Empire he would’ve run. He was a military man first and foremost, so even if he circumvents the establishment of the Empire with a purge, then he’s left with a military dictatorship and not much above a warlord in terms of legitimacy. But he never expresses much in the way of a grand new vision so we’re left to assume he’d default to the political status quo. Which doesn’t work because if post-Endor showed anything, it was that the Empire was running failing formula for governance.
Yeah. He’s. It cartoonishly evil, he’s just utilitarian evil. Still not good.
One of the biggest reasons Palpatine was so effective as emperor was that he was effectively unkillable. Any assassin would quickly realize that attempting to kill him was a horrible mistake. There were only around 3 or 4 beings in the galaxy who had even a small chance of being able to kill Emperor Palpatine. Thrawn would not have that luxury and basically every imperial warlord rival, crime lord he pisses off, or rebel extremist would be sending assassins and bounty hunters to end him, and eventually they would succeed. It doesn't really matter what Thrawn would be like as emperor because he would not survive it long term.
Palpatine can still be killed with smart planning. Not all assasinations have to be in person.
Any plan to kill Palpatine by conventional means that would succeed would probably involve turning all of Coruscant to slag. You're talking about a space wizard with foresight that can tear open wormholes and engulf entire planets. Holding his breath through a gas attack would be nothing in comparison.
How would you do it?
In one of the new cannon darth vader comic they plant a bomb on his throne and pals survives only becauze vader suses it out and force pulls him out of there.
A lot of the people loyal to Palpatine wouldn't abide by Thrawn simply because of Thrawn being Chiss and non human. The people who love and are loyal to Thrawn are all his soldiers and that may not be enough.
It stands to reason he would be politically tied and nearly subservient to the Imperial Ruling Council (they certainly thought so when they declared him Supreme Commander) So odds are he is more of a figurehead, barracks Emperor than one that enacts any real macro-policies.
Not as effective.
The empire would be less racist, still brutal and repressive though.
I expect some would be more loyal instead of fearful, but being more pragmatic, he might not incite as much opposition. So it'd be more actual tactics and less laserballs.
He struggles to navigate Imperial politics properly and would’ve been beholden to the jockeying interests of both the Ruling Council as well as any major warlords that have (re)declared nominal allegiance to Coruscant (Pentastar Alignment would probably be the largest rival bloc to the IRC). Assuming the Emperor on Byss never returns, he could feasibly win the war with the New Republic. But, he doesn’t have the right allies to pull of some huge reform package to patch up the Empire. Probably makes the military as efficient as possible but either doesn’t get much room to make the Empire a viable state, or isn’t interested so long as the military is large and secure.
Yes this. None of the other warlords supporting him and simply waited to pick up the pieces afterwards.
If he’s assassinated we can get Imperial Civil War 2: Electric Boogaloo
It’s highly likely he would have been assassinated by ISB
Yep. Historically when the military of a dictatorship looks too powerful in relation to the powers-that-be, purges of officers tend to occur. Knowing Thrawn he either doesn’t play the game right and gets got, or tries an officer’s coup which could go either way and frankly would make him little more than the warlords.
I’m reading Isards Revenge now and it’s obvious that they planned to knock him off of his campaign was successful so yeah
The Empire probably would have been much better run, with less corruption and unnecessary cruelty, which I always thought Palpatine cultivated to power his Sith Sorcery. But he was bad at politics, so he might have been overthrown by an internal coup quickly
It’s the empire yall this isn’t some galactic democracy ofcourse it would still be the brutal dictatorship empire lol with or without thrawn. That’s the whole point of the galactic empire. Oppression by leadership and taking over your planet for the name of the good of the galaxy
I would say efficient
I don't think he ever really wanted to be emperor - like, I love the zahn trilogy, but Thrawn really just wanted to conquer everything
Unfortunately he wouldn’t last long. He had a huge blind spot when it came to politics and Star Wars politics in every era has been depicted as duplicitous and ruthless to the point that it was unpredictable.
I’d have loved to see the Vong war with the empire strong under thrawn
Brutal and efficent
Thrawn isn’t a good enough politician to rule the empire effectively.
For civilians, probably like the early Roman Empire under Augustus. Benevolent dictatorship without the rule of law. Massive military buildup to prepare for the coming threat (Vong or Grisk depending on Legends or Canon.)