Genocide in A Galaxy Far, Far Away

In Star Wars Episode IV, the planet Alderaan was destroyed by Grand Moff Tarkin of the Imperial Navy. This act, although intended to terrify other planets with Rebel sympathies, was a politically motivated genocide, not unlike both the Armenian genocide and Stalin’s political purges.

When Tarkin decided to “demonstrate the full power of this battle station,” meaning the Death Star, his intention was to stop would-be Rebels from joining the cause, and intimidate current Rebels to such a degree as to render them incapable of further resistance. Toward this end, he obliterated an innocent, civilized planet with a rich cultural history, despite his being fully aware that “Alderaan is peaceful! [They had] no weapons!” (Princess Leia, Episode IV). Much like the Ottoman Empire’s massacres of Armenian communities in 1915, the leadership of the Galactic Empire felt threatened by an (in their case legitimate) internal threat, and took drastic measures to assure the Empire’s continued survival.

By the looser definitions of genocide (Charny, Churchill, UN Resolution),  Tarkin’s actions (and those of the thousands of crewmen on the Death Star at the time) clearly constitute genocide. Despite his motive in the Destruction of the Alderaanians being the insertion of terror into Rebel hearts, he utterly and without a doubt annihilated a national group. Chalk and Jonassohn ([one sided mass killing in which a state intends to destroy a group]) would also declare these actions genocide. However, more convoluted or involved definitions are used, the question becomes murkier.

If Tarkin had blown Alderaan into “a meteor shower” (Han Solo, Episode IV) because he hated Alderaanians and their unique culture, no definitions of genocide would fail to bestow upon him the dishonorable title of ‘genocidist.’ However, Tarkin’s goal was entirely separate from the lives of his victims; if it had accomplished his goals equally well, he would have demolished Tatooine, Naboo or Bespin. When intent is taken broadly, as simply the desire to destroy a group, then the Alderaanian Genocide is undeniable. If intent were read narrowly, as destruction of a group for specific reasons unrelated to other practical goals (my new semi-definition), Alderaan might not qualify nearly so easily. However, just as in the case of the Armenian Genocide, although there is some murkiness in the precise reasoning or desires of the perpetrators, the overwhelming evidence of the event itself makes its genocidal nature clear.

Robert Delson