Political Natural Selection

*"Conflict is the driving force of everything. Life as we know it, exists because the second bacteria that evolved, ate the first. Planets exist because the bigger rocks consumed all the smaller rocks and grew larger. Ever since its inception, the universe has been governed by a single, immovable law. Survival of the fittest. Eat or be eaten. Just as all life forms compete to survive, nations are no exception to that rule. Where peace reigns, there is stagnation and stagnation leads to extinction. Where there is war, civilizations grow and life prospers. War is the oxygen of civilizations and without war, sentient life withers and dies. War is the cleansing fire through which the weak and unworthy weeds are burned away to make room for a new, stronger, better crop."*​

- *Galactic Politics: A Highschool Handbook, Chapter 2*​

## Philosophy

Like all aspects of its governance and society, the Eternal Empire's foreign policy is dictated by its ideology, which encompasses a foundation of extreme nationalism, strong beliefs of militarism and natural selection, ideals of discipline and duty, combined with a kind of cold, merciless pragmatism that has become a well-known staple of Imperial culture and doctrine.

The Eternal Empire's foreign policy can best be described as 'political natural selection' and is based on a belief that conflict is an essential and inextricable driving force of all living things and thus, all nations and organizations in the galaxy are in constant competition with eachother, whether they like it or not.

War and militarism play a central role in Imperial culture and governance and that extends to foreign policy as well. In Imperial society, war is perceived as absolutely essential to the continuation of sentient life, being seen as the mechanism by which natural selection is carried out, rooting out the weak and making room for better, stronger cultures to grow, an eternal competition which forces its participants to maintain their edge, or fade away and die. While bloody and tragic, war is acknowledged as an intrinsic and unavoidable part of life, a spurt of necessary "growth pains" which improves society.

Imperial foreign policy is thus driven by a pragmatic national self-interest which dictates the nation's dealings with other governments. At its core, lie two fundamental principles. The belief that the ends always justify the means and that conflict is essential for the betterment of Imperial society and civilization. As such, the Empire's foreign policy is often described as extremely aggressive, although that is not necessarily always true.

Although the Eternal Empire sees all other nations in the galaxy as rivals and competitors, temporary alliances, trade agreements and non-aggression pacts may be signed, if it is pragmatic to do so. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, until our mutual enemy is dead, then we can go back to fighting eachother. This maxim governs the Empire's relations with other governments and organizations throughout the galaxy.

The Empire is brutally honest about these beliefs. Imperial officials do not make what they perceive to be empty and foolish promises of peace, or everlasting friendship. Imperial policy is dictated by national interest and where interests align with those of other governments, the Empire is perfectly willing to work with them, until those interests diverge or come into conflict, at which point the Eternal Empire would sever all cooperation and commence hostilities. Alliances and treaties may exist, but they are always conditional and temporary.

Some, especially those who embrace the precepts of the Lightside, may criticize this approach as cold and cruel. The Empire would counter that by arguing that its doctrine is merely practical and founded in the galaxy's fundamental truths. Either way, Imperial foreign policy does not sway to please or accommodate the sensibilities of foreign governments. The Empire's beliefs in its own exceptionalism, combined with a blatant disregard for the beliefs of cultures perceived as lesser, lead to the Imperial government's tendency to ignore foreign complaints regarding its actions.

## Foreign Relations of the Eternal Empire

### Overview

Due to deeply-rooted beliefs in militarism and Imperial exceptionalism, the Empire's stance towards all factions is weary by default. Factions which are considered rivals, are likely to find themselves drawn into skirmishes with Imperial forces, should they find themselves at odds over a particular matter, however the Empire does not actively pursue hostilities against these groups. Factions from this group may, at any point, be elevated to the status of enemies, should the Empire consider them to be some kind of fundamental threat to its interests or geopolitical goals, however the opposite is also true, as the Empire may consider temporarily improving relations with some of the factions it considers rivals, based on the Empire's interests at that given time and the situation in the galaxy.
Due to geopolitical considerations such as distance or strategic interests, some factions are considered irrelevant and effectively overlooked by Imperial foreign policy, while others are seen as friendly, meaning that the Empire sees some benefit in temporary cooperation with these organizations, due to mutual interests such as a common enemy. The Empire is likely to pursue further cooperation and temporary accords with these organizations, depending on what its interests are at the moment.

Occasionally, the Eternal Empire will find itself in a fundamental conflict with another organization, such as a territorial dispute, or a serious diplomatic incident that goes beyond a minor skirmish. In such situations, the Empire is likely to escalate hostilities and issue a formal declaration of war. Pacifist or Lightside factions that are fundamentally opposed to the Eternal Empire's ideology, are far more likely to find themselves the target of Imperial military actions, as the Empire will flat-out refuse to engage in any kind of diplomacy with these governments, due to diametrically opposed political beliefs, unless national interests dictate a temporary, if distasteful, cooperation, a "deal with the devil".

Because of the governing philosophy of the Eternal Empire, its foreign relations are in a constant state of flux, changing to best suit the national interests of the state.

### Rival Factions

* Outer Planets Alliance
* Silver Jedi Order
* Confederacy of Independent Systems
* Galactic Alliance
* The Network
* Catharian Hegemony

### No Relations

* Darkwire
* The Wild Space Exiles
* Agents of Chaos
* The Resol'nare