High Human Culture

Several underlying currents contributed to anti-droid sentiment and anti-female chauvinism. This chauvinism also affected Human females, who were nearly always excluded from the highest levels of authority within the Empire's military and governmental structures. Notable exceptions included Admiral Daala from the Imperial Navy (secretly promoted by Grand Moff Tarkin), Admiral Betl Oxtroe, Intelligence Director Ysanne Isard, Captain Uwlla Iillor of the Black Asp, and the decorated Pilot Juno Eclipse.

Individuals who did not conform to the standards of Human High Culture were classified as Non-huMan.

When the Galactic Empire was first established, several minority populist groups actively promoted Human supremacy concepts on Coruscant. These groups were rapidly absorbed into the emerging COMPNOR. Their perspectives were then synthesized into a unified ideology, primarily through the efforts of Crueya Vandron, Ishin-Il-Raz, and Sate Pestage.

The central principle of Human High Culture asserted that Humans were the sole truly intelligent and productive members of any society. Proponents of this view argued that Humans were almost exclusively responsible for the formation and leadership of the Old Republic, and that the Human-dominated worlds of the Core were among the oldest, wealthiest, and most technologically advanced in the galaxy.

Consequently, through the revocation of laws like the Rights of Sentience and the enactment of new legislation, all nonhumans were relegated to second-class citizenship (or denied citizenship altogether). The practice of non-Human slavery was reinstated as legal. Only 'pure' artistic creations (such as operas, holovids, or books) produced exclusively by Humans and without nonhuman assistance were permitted to be created, viewed, and disseminated. This restriction was based on the belief that only Human culture was worthy of flourishing under the New Order. Non-Humans faced 'active discouragement' from participating in government or enlisting in the Imperial military. Human governors and moffs were appointed to oversee nonhuman worlds and sectors. However, loopholes existed: non-Humans and Near-humans who demonstrated unwavering devotion to Emperor Palpatine and dedicated themselves solely to serving his Empire were generally left undisturbed. Examples of such tolerance included Grand Admiral Thrawn, Grand Moff Bertroff Hissa, and General Bentilais san Sk'ar.

It is possible to argue that Palpatine's prejudices stemmed from the historical animosity between the Humans of Naboo (Palpatine's birth planet) and the Gungans who shared the world. However, the extent to which Palpatine was a speciesist, if at all, is open to debate. Palpatine freely associated with nonhumans like Mas Amedda and Sly Moore, served as an apprentice to Darth Plagueis (a Muun), and took Darth Maul (a Dathomirian Zabrak) as an apprentice, all of whom were Humanoid. Consequently, it could be argued that Palpatine's Humanocentrism was more flexible than the typical Imperial perspective, possibly due to the historical prevalence of Humans and Humanoids among the Sith. Palpatine, or rather Darth Sidious, stated in the Book of Sith that he did not personally subscribe to Humanocentrism but considered it a useful tool for maintaining control over the Empire. From this perspective, Palpatine's speciesism might have extended to certain Humanoid species, and he may have exploited anti-alien sentiments to divide the galaxy's inhabitants and consolidate his power. Indeed, Palpatine's atrocities included the destruction of the Human-dominated world of Alderaan and the creation of a pathogen specifically targeting Humans.

Even so, Wilhuff Tarkin, the lieutenant governor of Eriadu who oversaw the Republic Outland Regions Security Force, and also a secret servant of Sith Lords Plagueis and Sidious, articulated a distinctly Humanocentric viewpoint that, at first glance, appeared to reflect the true worldview of his dark side superiors. In 29 BBY, Tarkin told Raith Sienar that he performed "favors for certain people" for whom "balance is no longer necessary." These influential individuals favored or "appreciated fingers—not tentacles ... not palps, but human fingers—reaching into a great many stellar soup bowls, testing the temperature to see if they are ready for the eating ... Mark my words, Raith. Humans are the future"; Sienar, himself a Human and a future servant of the Galactic Empire (the designer of the Imperial TIE Fighter and the originator of the Death Star concept), noticed the tension in Tarkin's voice and responded, "So marked." Indeed, Sienar had sensed, and Tarkin now confirmed, that a shift in the "political psychology" of the galaxy was occurring, and that those who would soon "replace" the Republic's "effete elites" (beings who were inflexible, outdated, and rigid) would "rule by brutality"; this was, in fact, "a law in the history of the galaxy. A kind of political balance, frightening but true." It was this imminent shift towards brutality in political rule that had led Sienar, only months before, to turn his "craft" of weapons and ship design (pursuing precisely this angle of brutal, "centralized strength," although he now understood it was to take Human form) when he began work on his Expeditionary Battle Planetoid, whose design presentation had left Tarkin "entranced." The Eriadu commander quickly admitted, however, that due to "the tolerance and weakness of our predecessors ... it could take decades to make humans the supreme race in this galaxy," requiring them to show _magnanimity _towards lesser races "for the time being."

Darth Sidious' apprentice, Count Dooku (Darth Tyranus), also appeared to be a Human supremacist who wished to transform the Republic into an Empire of Man, with the Sith serving as its military force. However, it is possible that he developed these Humanocentric views later in life due to his association with Sidious, as he had alien friends in his youth, and it is difficult to imagine that any anti-alien sentiments on his part could have remained hidden from the Jedi for seventy years. Many of his hand-picked Dark Acolytes were nonhuman, and he also seemed to have personal respect for Geonosian Archduke Poggle the Lesser.

The Coalition for Progress, the Imperial Board of Culture, and the Sub-Adult Groups were responsible for enforcing and instilling Human High Culture within the Empire's citizenry.

Even years after the Empire's defeat, the ideas of Human High Culture persisted within the New Republic among fringe groups such as the Human League. Simultaneously, Admiral Daala significantly weakened this concept within the Imperial Remnant by permitting aliens of all kinds to serve in the Imperial military. By the era of the Fel and Sith Empire, numerous aliens were serving within the Imperial military as stormtroopers, officers, and even Admirals. Nevertheless, as late as 137 ABY, individuals like Admiral Dru Valan continued to believe in the inherent superiority of Humans and resented serving under non-Human officers.