The carrot and stick method doesn't work if you get the stick either way. That's the Tarkin Doctrine in a nutshell. Tarkin fancied himself a Machiavellian but forgot a crucial part about his old maxim; it's better to be feared than loved, but one should take care not to become hated. In destroying Alderaan, Tarkin ensured a bunch of planets hated his guts and wanted to give the Empire a black eye.

Just as Yoda once said "Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate"

"Fear did not keep them in line, it made them cross it"! This is a lesson for all, including the present empire.

Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration. Oh wait.

While I’ve seen longer videos that discus the Tarkin Doctrine in greater depth, I’m impressed with the quality of writing here. You cover the subject with a bit of narrative flare that I appreciate. Not all lore-masters are great writers. Well done.

I have no idea what the Deathstar was meant to suppress. They already had the means to destroy planets, just not completely and in the blink of an eye but they did burn Mandalore. Any superweapon is a mistake, they take much more resources than what equivalent of regular troops would be needed for that same task.

Great high quality video!

Both the Star Destroyer and the Death Star had Sith heritage... but that in turn was shaped by the enviorment of the Outer Rim. When chasing down enemies is difficult and life is cheap, Orbital Bombardment is a great way to both deter future enemies and force combat with a weaker opponent. Large capital ships on the other hand are the easiest way to distinguish yourself from smaller powers like the Hutts. The mistake Tarkin and Palpatine made was applying doctrines intended for brush wars and gunboat diplomacy in the Outer Rim and applying them to an existential conflict in the Core. Even on a purely practical level, the threat wasn't hostile forified planets, but mobile fleets hopping from Asteroid to Ice Moon and the creeping destruction of the state due to graft or black markets. The Empire didn't need a Death Star, it needed swarms of Corvettes, Green Berets, and a more modest political program. It got none of those until it was far too late.

Tarkin forgot to take a page from 1984

Can we agree that Galen Erso was the real hero? He actually built the weakness which Luke would later exploit.

Grand Moff Tarkin's policies are pretty bad in a setting like this it's just horribly self destructive and incompetent. Even the Imperium of Man's Inquisitors would call him a foolish secular tunnel visioned brainless man. If another faction with more advance firepower then the Galactic Empire were to go to war with them with large numbers like the Katzenartig Imperium from Stellaris Gigastructural Engineering, those domestic and inter galactic policies with those current conditions would not fly so well and completely backfire once their military assets and fielded manpower was crushed and many would begin to defect or begin uprisings or ally with the adversary.

Too much 'bass' in your audio.

Set video playback speed to 1.25x and thank me later.