title: Sith

text: Sith are ruthless and totalitarian by design, in which supreme autocratic authority is concentrated in a single individual granted the honorific Dark Lord of the Sith. Sith culture is of perpetual self-destruction and reinvention; transfer of power is conducted through state-sanctioned assassinations: when a Sith Lord grows complacent and exhibits weakness, they are eventually killed, wherein their property and authority are transferred to the apprentice who killed them. Robberies, betrayal, and sabotage are commonplace; murder is acceptable so long as the culprit is not caught. Sith teaches their apprentices to revere the dark side of the Force and to believe that the galaxy was theirs to rule by cosmic right. This kraterocratic system ensures that Sith society nurtures some of the most vicious and competitive individuals in the galaxy and is only governed by those strong enough to seize control.


title: Sith

text: Like the Jedi, the traditional weapon of the Sith is the lightsaber, a device that generates a blade-like plasma powered by a Kyber crystal and uses modulation circuits and an energy gate or other focusing systems. In contrast to the Jedi, who primarily use blue and green lightsabers, among other colors, the average color for a Sith lightsaber is red, born of an unnatural corruption of the Kyber crystal through the dark side's malignancy, causing it to "bleed". This even affects the sound of ignition, with a harsher hiss.


title: Sith

text: The word "Sith" was first used in the 1974 rough draft of "Star Wars" with the first published use being the 1976 as a title for the key villain Darth Vader, the "Dark Lord of the Sith". Sith characters had also been portrayed as such in some "Star Wars" Legends works prior to the release of "The Phantom Menace" (the first film to identify characters as Sith on-screen), and in deleted footage from the original film.


title: Sith

text: In his novel series "The Thrawn Trilogy" (1991–1993), author Timothy Zahn labeled Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine as "Dark Jedi", as the meaning of the term "Sith" had not yet been defined. Subsequent "Star Wars" Legends media use the term "Dark Jedi" for various characters attuned to the dark side of the Force; some of these characters (including Vader and Sidious) would be later identified as Sith, although the term would also be applied to non-Sith characters with similar goals and practices.


title: Sith

text: George Lucas acknowledged that the Jedi, Sith, and other Force concepts have been inspired by many sources. These include: knighthood, chivalry, paladinism, samurai bushido, Shaolin Monastery, Feudalism, Hinduism, Qigong, Greek philosophy and mythology, Roman history and mythology, Sufism, Confucianism, Shintō, Buddhism and Taoism, and numerous cinematic precursors. The works of philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche and mythologist Joseph Campbell, especially his book "The Hero with a Thousand Faces" (1949), directly influenced Lucas, and was what drove him to create the 'modern myth' of "Star Wars". In particular, the contrasting narrative relationship between the dark side-using Sith and light side-using Jedi mirrors several modern and classical literary tropes.


title: Sith

text: The ongoing struggle of the humanistic "light side"-affiliated Jedi to permanently defeat the egoistic "dark side"-affiliated Sith is framed not only as a contest of values, but as a deep metaphysical conflict: The dark side of the Force is viewed by the Jedi, and generally represented within "Star Wars" media, as not only a dangerous expedient but as a form of existential corruption which must be purged for the universe, or a person, to attain spiritual balance. Jedi are often depicted as imperfect individuals, but their cause of selfless heroism is ultimately on the right side of an inexorable cosmic struggle against evil, embodied in the power-hungry Sith and the dark side of the Force.


title: Sith

text: The dualistic relationship between the Sith' and the Jedi' concepts of "purity" mirrors the philosophical and literary concept of "Apollonian and Dionysian": the Jedi are portrayed as embracing purity, reason, temperance, altruism and other humanistic virtues; the Sith, by contrast, embrace curiosity, emotion, conflict, power, instincts, unfettered self-interest and other hedonistic vices. However, whereas the classic Greek concept did not necessarily view the Apollonian and Dyonisian principles as opposed, "Star Wars" frames the Jedi and Sith as opponents in a dire moral struggle, with the Sith cast as corrupted villains apparently destined to defeat or self-destruction in the end. Although a path to temporary power, the Sith way inevitably leads to ruin.


title: Sith

text: Within the "Star Wars" narrative, the Jedi and Sith naturally have different self-understandings. In Sith rhetoric, the relationship between the philosophies of the Jedi and Sith closely mirrors Nietzsche's concept of master–slave morality. Sith value "master" virtues, such as pride and power, whereas the Jedi value altruistic "slave" virtues like kindness and empathy. The goal of the Sith is tangible greatness: the ability to shape and destroy the world according to one's will alone. The goal of the Jedi is moral goodness: freedom from inner, and outer, turmoil and suffering. However, the Sith consider the Jedi's aspirations to be either hopeless or pathetic. To the Sith, greater power is the only authentic goal.


title: Sith

text: Originally, George Lucas conceived the Sith as a group that served the Emperor in the same way that the "Schutzstaffel" had served Adolf Hitler. In developing the history for "The Empire Strikes Back", Lucas condensed this into one character in the form of Darth Vader.


title: Sith

text: Sith philosophy lionized conflict as a catalyst for growth and as a tool for purging the weak, disloyal, and undisciplined. Sith academies were structured with rules, lectures, and classes, with an underlying "kill or be killed" mentality amongst the apprentices. Sith emphasize "survival of the fittest" and view restraint as a weakness. Members adhere to master morality, are characterized by the desire to seize power by any means necessary, leveraging force (both physical and supernatural), social maneuvering, and political cunning to their advantage. The Sith cultivate a connection to the dark side of the Force, which provides them with easy access to superhuman power and arcane knowledge; however, the trade-off is the severe cost of adopting a dark triad personality that corrodes their basic capacity for empathy, kindness, and love.


title: Sith

text: Throughout "Star Wars" media and in popular culture, the Sith are infamous as the dualistic antagonists to the Jedi, an affiliation of altruistic warriors who strive to use their own martial training and connection to the "light side" of the Force to promote peace and the common welfare throughout the galaxy. The Sith have a philosophical framework that "justifies" their ruthless and self-serving actions, but their agenda are considered appalling by society in general, and the Jedi who actively oppose them. To counteract the Jedi's benevolent influence, the Sith were responsible for secretly instigating many small regional conflicts as part of their larger plan to destabilize the Republic and eventually take control of the galaxy. Hiding in the shadows, their fingerprints are everywhere, in every conflict in the galaxy, and their subversive influence reaches far and wide.


title: Sith

text: The Sith are dedicated to the "Code of the Sith" and to mastering the dark side of the Force. The Code of the Sith identifies conflict as the fundamental dynamic of reality, and holds that the search for lasting peace, within or without, is both quixotic and misguided. Rather, Sith embrace strife and dark passion as salutary and emancipatory forces, as they believe that violent struggle purges the decadent and weak, and that emotions such as aggression and hate provide the strength and resolve to secure freedom through victory. Although Sith seek dominion, Sith philosophy stresses that power belongs only to those with the strength, cunning, and ruthlessness to maintain it, and thus "betrayal" among the Sith is not a vice but an endorsed norm. Accordingly, the Sith reject altruism, self-abnegation and kindness, as they regard such attitudes as founded on delusions that fetter one's perceptions and power. In connection with their philosophy, the Sith draw on the dark side of the Force through severe negative emotions, a technique antipodal to that of their archenemies, the Jedi, who rely on the Force's "light side," i.e., the Force as experienced through disciplined states of quietude and compassion. Notably, both the Jedi and Sith shun romantic and familial love, as the Jedi fear such love will lead to attachment, and thus selfishness, and the Sith fear it will compromise their ruthlessness and connection to the dark side of the Force.


title: Sith

text: Although the Sith are intimately linked to the dark side, not every user of the dark side is a Sith, nor is every user of the light side a Jedi.


title: Sith

text: The dark side of the Force is stigmatized as seductive, corruptive, and addictive by the Jedi, who view it as evil, whereas the Sith consider the dark side of the Force to be its most powerful manifestation, and regard the abstemious Jedi as blinded by false virtue. As portrayed in all "Star Wars"-related media, the dark side provides users with powers similar to those of the light side-using Jedi, but as it leverages passion and violence, its use is enhanced by negative raw and aggressive emotions and instinctual feelings such as anger, greed, hatred, and rage. By deciding to learn the ways of the dark side of the Force, the Sith may also acquire powers and abilities considered by some in the "Star Wars" universe to be unnatural. A notable example is a form of directed dielectric breakdown called "Force lightning," infamously used by the Sith Lord Darth Sidious to torture Jedi-initiate and rebel Luke Skywalker. Darth Sidious claimed that his own master, Darth Plagueis, could even use the Force to avert the natural deaths of those whose lives he wished to save. Being uninhibited in their use of the Force, Sith could also repurpose abilities shared with the Jedi, such as telekinesis, to new and terrifying effect: Darth Vader was infamous for his use of telekinetic strangulation, or "Force choke," as a means of execution or intimidation.


title: Sith

text: Extended indulgence in the dark side reshapes the user's psychology, resulting in a loss of humanity, morality, empathy, and the ability to love, leaving every Sith, to varying degrees, amoral, cruel, sadistic and violent. Considering this dark change in personality to be a transformation into a different person altogether, some who turn to the dark side take on a different name, as they regard their former persona as dead and destroyed. Sith Lords, in particular, adopt a new name upon their initiation into the Order, prefixing it with the title Darth (e.g., "Darth Vader"). Severe saturation in the dark side may even lead to physical degradation. It is common for Sith that have immersed themselves in the dark side to receive yellow eyes and pale skin. Although Sith are deeply affected by the Machiavellian methods and dark arts they practice, they are not portrayed as necessarily irredeemable: Some Sith, most famously Darth Vader in the final moments of his life, have renounced the Order and the dark side of the Force.


title: Sith

text: Martial arts are a core part of the Sith tradition, and Sith featured in the "Star Wars" film series have all been highly trained warriors who further augment their abilities with the Force. Like the Jedi, the Sith's signature armament is an extremely lethal focused energy melee weapon known as a lightsaber, which (generally) only those trained in the ways of the Force can use effectively, although General Grievous, a non-Force user, was able to murder numerous Jedi and seize their lightsabers as weapons. Sith use lightsabers in combination with Force-derived powers, such as telekinesis, enhanced dexterity and precognition, to achieve superhuman combat prowess. A well-trained Sith is depicted as being at least a match for a well-trained Jedi Knight, and either can handily defeat multiple ordinary attackers armed with projectile weapons. In matters of dress, Sith may adopt any attire consistent with their plans or guise; they commonly favor black robes, armor and gis when presenting themselves authentically.


title: Sith

text: In the non-canonical "Legends" continuity, the Sith Order began around 6,900 BBY, during a period known as the Hundred Year Darkness. A series of conflicts began between the rebellious dark Jedi, a faction of the Jedi Order, and the rest of the Order. The dark Jedi were defeated and cast out, exiled to the unknown regions. These Exiles came across the planet Korriban, and its native species, the Sith. The strongest among the Exiles, Ajunta Pall, became the first to hold the title Dark Lord of the Sith. His contemporaries, such as Karness Muur and XoXaan, became Sith Lords. The human Dark Jedi interbred with the Sith species, who also had an affinity for the Dark Side. They would become the original Sith Empire.


title: Sith

text: One of the earliest leaders of this Sith Empire was Tulak Hord. He expanded the Sith territories and conquered the Dromund System, home to Dromuund Kaas, later the capital of the Sith Empire. He was eventually followed by Marka Ragnos, the last ruler of a period known as the Golden Age of the Sith. Upon the passing of Ragnos, two contenders for the throne of Dark Lord, Naga Sadow and Ludo Kressh, dueled at his funeral. Eventually, after a series of conflicts, Sadow was victorious, and Kressh apparently killed.


title: Sith

text: Sadow began the Great Hyperspace War, invading the Republic and laying siege to its planets. Sadow's efforts were initially met with success, his forces amplified by illusions that Sadow projected from his meditation sphere. Unfortunately the Dark Lord's concentration was broken when his apprentice turned on him. With his illusions dispersed, Sadow's forces were forced to retreat. Upon returning to Sith space they found that Kressh had not been killed, and engaged him in a space battle. Sadow was victorious again, but they were soon attacked by Republic forces. Sadow escaped by causing the Denarii Binary Star to go supernova. The Sith Empire would be saved from collapse by Darth Vitiate, another former acolyte of Ragnos, who led the Sith into hiding in the Unknown Regions where they rebuilt on Dromund Kaas.


title: Sith

text: In the Empire's absence, the influence of the Sith would eventually lead to the rise of Exar Kun and Ulic Qel-Droma. The spirit of Marka Ragnos declared Kun Dark Lord of the Sith, and made Qel-Droma his apprentice. Corrupting many Jedi to their cause and allying themselves with warriors such as the Mandalorians, Kun and Qel-Droma declared war on the Galactic Republic. During a raid on the Jedi Library at Ossus, Qel-Droma dueled and killed his brother, but was captured. Qel-Droma was redeemed and was instrumental in Kun's downfall, when the latter retreated to Yavin IV.


title: Sith

text: Exar Kun's invasion directly influenced the Mandalorian Wars, whereas the individuals known as Revan and Alek came across Darth Vitiate's empire in the Unknown Regions. Seduced to the dark side and declaring themselves Sith Lords, Revan and Alek became Darth Revan and Darth Malak, respectively. Vitiate had them seek out the Star Forge, an ancient, alien weapons plant that the Sith hoped to use to speed up their return to the galaxy. Revan and Malak instead opted to use the Star Forge to fuel their own imperial war machine and led a brutal and hugely successful campaign against the Republic. Revan was eventually betrayed by Malak, allowing a Jedi strike team to capture him. Malak continued his conquest without Revan's tactical leadership until a redeemed Revan defeated him, and the Star Forge, the source of the Sith fleet, was destroyed.


title: Sith

text: Remnants of Revan's Sith Empire were reorganized into a loose alliance of soldiers, assassins, and fallen Jedi led by the Sith Triumvirate, a triad of Sith Lords consisting of Darth Traya, Revan's former teacher; Darth Nihilus, a fallen Jedi and survivor of the Mandalorian Wars; and Darth Sion, a veteran Sith warrior from Exar Kun's war. The three of them began a shadow war against the Jedi, with Nihilus using his power to absorb Force energies to wipe out an entire planet of Jedi refugees, while Sion led a contingent of assassins to hunt down the survivors. This First Jedi Purge brought the Jedi Order to the brink of extinction. The Triumvirate's downfall came about when Meetra Surik, a Jedi who was exiled after the Mandalorian Wars, returned to known space. She defeated the three Sith, and without the Sith leadership, and the destruction of their base of operations on Malachor V, the remaining Sith forces faded into obscurity. Surik's students were able to help the Jedi recover from the Triumvirate's purge.


title: Sith

text: Around 300 years later, the original Sith Empire, now under the leadership of Vitiate, emerged from the Unknown Regions and declared war on the republic. This war, dubbed the Great Galactic War, was halted when Vitiate, on the cusp of victory, was restrained by the telepathic prowess of Revan. After a period of non-fighting, called the Galactic Cold War, tensions boiled over, and the Galactic War began. The war briefly fell in favor of the Republic and the Jedi, with the Sith gradually losing ground, until both factions were forced to join together in an alliance against a third faction of Force-users known as the Eternal Empire. Once the Eternal Empire was defeated, the war against the Sith resumed. Vitiate perished during the conflict, with Darth Malgus eventually taking control. Malgus proved to be a fairly successful leader but over time the Sith Empire eventually fell to infighting and mostly disappeared. Occasionally, a Dark Lord such as Darth Rivan or Darth Ruin would rise and fall, but the Sith did not become a major threat again until around 2,500 years later.


title: Sith

text: At this point the Brotherhood of Darkness arose, led by the Sith Lord Skere Kaan. They focused on controlling the infighting between the Sith. This policy allowed them to make great progress in their war against the Republic. Ironically, one of their own, a Sith Lord by the name of Bane turned on them, because he disapproved of their methods. He manipulated the Brotherhood into extinction, and they were defeated. Bane started the Rule of Two, which evolved into the Sith as they are seen in the films.


title: Sith

text: The "Star Wars" saga began with the film "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope", which was released in 1977. Since then, films, books, computer games and comics have been released, all set in the fictional universe of "Star Wars", which has expanded the history of the Sith within their stories.


title: Sith

text: The schemes of the Sith are key to the overarching plot of the "Star Wars" films and much other fictional material in the franchise. Their background has varied among depictions, but the Sith have always been insidious archenemies of the Jedi leveraging dark arts in pursuit of power and revenge. The Sith were first mentioned in "A New Hope" in a scene ultimately cut from the film. They were expanded upon heavily in the following years in books, comics, games and other multimedia. The Sith were formally introduced on-screen with the release of "" in 1999 as a shadowy martial order manipulating the movie's political factions into a galaxy-spanning civil war.


title: Sith

text: "" first aired on Cartoon Network in 2008. This series took place between "" and "". During this time, Anakin Skywalker is a full-fledged Jedi Knight and the series shows how he progresses into his fall to the Dark Side of the Force. Count Dooku is the active Sith Lord and leader of the Separatist Alliance. The series also explores Dooku's attempts at training secret apprentices like Asajj Ventress and Savage Opress in order to eventually defeat Darth Sidious and become the ruling Sith Lord.


title: Sith

text: The origin, agenda, abilities and philosophy of the Sith are intertwined with their relationship to the Force. With proper training, the Force may be called upon by rare individuals capable of "sensing" or "touching" it to achieve extraordinary feats such as telekinesis, precognition and mental suggestion. Not all psychological states are conducive to employing the Force; discipline is required. However, both quietude and focused, intense passion alike can be effective. The Sith originated in a species of Force-sensitive warriors who discovered the efficacy of passion as a tool to draw on the Force at least 5,000 years prior to the events of the first "Star Wars" film. Fully embracing this approach, they became defined and corrupted by it.


title: Sith

text: The warriors who would become the first Sith were apparently heterodox members of the Jedi. The Jedi served as a space-faring knightly order within the Galactic Republic, a representative democracy encompassing most developed worlds. The Jedi Order sought to use the powers of the Force to help defend the weak and advance the rule of law across the galaxy, in keeping with their ethics of self-sacrifice and service to the common welfare. The Jedi creed mirrored their method of utilizing the Force, and Jedi doctrine favored states of serenity, detachment, compassion, and humility as the proper means of accessing its power. Controversy emerged when members of the Jedi Order began to experiment with passion as an alternative. The Jedi establishment saw these innovations as a threat to the ethos of the Jedi, opening members to the seduction of power and cruelty. Eventually, this controversy led to a conflict in which the rebelling Jedi were defeated and exiled.


title: Sith

text: In exile, the dissident Jedi were free to explore the relationship between passion and the Force. They concluded that the martial and ethical disciplines of the Jedi establishment were foolish and misguided. Passion, not quietude, was the most potent means of accessing the Force, and conflict, not peace, was the natural and healthy state of the universe. Rejecting the teachings of the Light side of the force, the exiles now embraced ruthless personal ambition, believing that power belonged to those with the cunning and strength to seize it. In their training, the dissidents would seek to master the Force by cultivating dark passions such as anger and hate, a practice condemned by the Jedi. Guided by their egoistic philosophy based on ruling by seizing power, and armed with taboo Dark Side techniques, the former Jedi exiles reemerged to menace the galaxy as the Sith Order, aiming to conquer the Galactic Republic and exact revenge against the Jedi.


title: Sith

text: A succession of Sith-led regimes would arise to challenge the Jedi and the Galactic Republic. However, internal power struggles would prove decisive in thwarting the Sith's designs. The paradox of reconciling endless personal ambition with the interests of the Sith as a whole became a great practical and philosophical concern for the Sith. Ultimately, this paradox was “resolved” through a drastic reorganization by Darth Bane, who recast the Sith into a master-apprentice tradition called the Rule of Two. Starting with Darth Bane, there would be only two Sith at a time: one to embody power, and the other to crave it. While concealing their identity as Sith, a succession of Sith masters and apprentices would work through the centuries to place themselves into positions of power and undermine the responsible authorities, preparing to overtake the Galactic Republic. The Banite tradition encouraged each apprentice to eventually challenge and murder his or her master, and take an apprentice in turn. In this way, Darth Bane guaranteed the conspiracy remained a secret for a thousand years. He believe the Sith could exert their power and obtain their revenge against the Jedi by galactic domination. The first six "Star Wars" films chronicle this ancient scheme.


title: Sith

text: Darth Bane's plan would come to fruition through Sheev Palpatine, a Naboo Senator, later Supreme Chancellor, of the Galactic Republic, and secretly a Dark Lord of the Sith (“Darth Sidious”). By manipulating disgruntled factions within the Galactic Republic, Palpatine orchestrated civil war. This conflict, known within the "Star Wars" universe as the "Clone Wars", provided a justification for consolidating power in the Galactic Republic's chief executive and assembling a large army of cloned soldiers conditioned to obey certain key commands issued by Palpatine. The Jedi eventually discovered Palpatine's identity as a Sith Lord and attempted to arrest him. Palpatine framed their actions as an attempted coup, using it as a pretext for annihilating the Jedi by activating “Order 66,” one of the embedded protocols in the clone soldiers. In the course of effecting his designs, Palpatine also manipulated the most powerful Jedi knight, Anakin Skywalker, into his service by promising to teach him how to save the life of Padmé Amidala. In a tragic irony, the sheer horror of discovering Anakin collaboration with Sidious to destroy resulted in the death of Padmé during childbirth. Sidious would trick Anakin into believing that he had killed Padmé in anger. Anakin's subsequent emotional collapse would lead him to fully embrace the dark side of the Force. Sidious would rule the newly created Galactic Empire for approximately 20 years as its Emperor with Darth Vader at his side. Initially unknown to Vader and Sidious, two children were delivered by Padme before her death.


title: Sith

text: The "Rebels" episode "Twilight of the Apprentice" features a forbidden planet called Malachor, home of an ancient Sith temple. The temple contains a superweapon, and can only be activated by placing a special Sith Holocron in an obelisk at the summit of the pyramid inside the temple. Thousands of years prior, a battle was waged on Malachor that resulted in the deaths of its inhabitants. Somewhere between the events of his last appearance in "" and this "Rebels" episode, Darth Maul had become stranded on the planet. When Ahsoka Tano, Kanan Jarrus and Ezra Bridger arrive, Ezra is separated from them. He is discovered by Maul, and together, they use the Force cooperatively to solve a series of tests, and retrieve a Sith Holocron. With the help of Kanan and Ahsoka, they fought three Inquisitors, all of whom are killed by Maul. Maul then betrays his allies, blinding Kanan, and proceeds to activate the superweapon.


title: Sith

text: Maul is defeated by a sightless Kanan, and Darth Vader arrives with the intention of retrieving the holocron, but is challenged by Ahsoka, his former Padawan. While the superweapon is preparing to fire, Kanan and Ezra retrieve the holocron and escape, preventing the weapon of mass destruction from being used. Even though the temple is destabilized, Ahsoka and Vader keep fighting to the death within the rapidly crumbling building, until it eventually explodes, wounding Vader.


title: Sith

text: The "Star Wars Resistance" episode "The Relic Raiders" depicts a Sith temple hidden underneath a later Jedi temple.


title: Sith

text: Anakin's children, Leia, and Luke Skywalker would become key members of the Rebel Alliance to restore the Galactic Republic. Luke would be secretly tutored in the ways of the Force by Vader's own former Jedi master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and a powerful elder Jedi, Yoda, who also survived Palpatine's purge. Ironically, during a final confrontation between Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader and the Emperor aboard a mobile battle station known as the Death Star, the Sith lineage would end as Darth Bane prescribed that it proceed. Darth Sidious offered Skywalker an ultimatum to enter his service or die, and proceeded to use his Force-derived powers to torture and threaten to kill Skywalker when the latter refused to embrace the dark side of the Force. Experiencing a crisis of conscience at the imminent death of Skywalker, whom Vader now knew to be his son, Darth Vader chose to intervene and kill his former master, Sidious, fulfilling the prophecy of the Chosen One. Vader would die of his own injuries shortly thereafter, thus apparently bringing an end to the Sith and their ancient vendetta.


title: Sith

text: The 2019 film "The Rise of Skywalker" depicts the climax of the conflict between the Sith and the Jedi, and features the group known as the Sith Eternal, led by a resurrected Darth Sidious. When Sidious meets his final demise at the hands of his granddaughter, Rey, the moment also marks the definitive end of the Sith.


title: Sith

text: Darth Sidious (Sheev Palpatine) was a human Dark Lord of the Sith who appeared in each trilogy of the "Skywalker Saga". Originally the eldest son of an aristocratic family from the planet Naboo, he rose to power within the Galactic Republic's government system starting from Senator of his homeworld, then to Supreme Chancellor of the Republic, and finally to self-proclaimed Emperor of the Galactic Empire. This was done by cultivating a public image as a humble and competent politician while secretly mastering dark Sith arts studying under Plagueis, and planning the destruction of the Jedi Order and Republic. Eventually, by manipulating disaffected political groups and using double agents to sow discord, Palpatine fomented a civil war that provided an opportunity for him to seize absolute power. He had three known Sith apprentices: Darth Maul, Darth Tyranus, and Darth Vader. He was eventually betrayed and killed by his last, Vader, at the end of "Return of the Jedi". He returned more than 30 years later in "The Rise of Skywalker", having managed to cheat death through powerful mastery of the dark side of the Force. He attempted to reclaim control of the galaxy through the Sith Eternal's fleet of "Xyston"-class Star Destroyers, the Final Order, but was finally killed by his granddaughter, Rey, who deflected his Force lightning back at him using the Skywalker lightsabers. Darth Sidious' final death marked what appears to be the definitive end of the Sith.


title: Sith

text: In "Legends" continuity, Darth Sidious would return using clones and ancient Sith powers, returning in several clone bodies over the course of several novels and comics. During this time he would briefly turn Luke Skywalker to the dark side of the Force through sheer power as much as by guile, though Luke would later be redeemed by his sister Leia and restored to the light side of the Force and defeated Palpatine once and for all. Shortly before his first death, Palpatine had sent a psychic command through the Force to Mara Jade, planting in her the need to kill Luke. She eventually fulfilled this command by slaying a clone of Luke called Luuke Skywalker, whom Palpatine had made in an attempt to use him against the original, though this plot ultimately would fail due to Mara's fatal attack on the clone.


title: Sith

text: Darth Maul was a Dathomirian Zabrak Sith Lord who served as the first apprentice of Darth Sidious. He first appeared in "", where he was ordered by his master to capture Queen Amidala of Naboo in order for her to sign a treaty that would legalize the Trade Federation's invasion of the planet. During a duel with Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi, who were assigned to protect Amidala, Maul killed the former, but was sliced in half by Obi-Wan and fell down a shaft. Although presumed dead, he survived his injuries and ended up on the junk planet Lotho Minor, where he would become a cyborg and be driven to insanity. He was eventually rescued by his brother Savage Opress twelve years later, during the Clone Wars. After being provided with a pair of new robotic legs by the Nightsisters, led by Maul's mother, Talzin, he sought revenge against Obi-Wan. This culminated with Maul allying with various crime syndicates, taking over the planet Mandalore, and killing Duchess Satine Kryze, whom Obi-Wan loved. Although he was then captured by his former master, Sidious, who came to see him as a rival, he managed to escape and rebuild his criminal empire. Following his overthrow and capture by the Galactic Republic, Maul escaped once again and went into hiding while no longer being a Sith Lord. During the reign of the Galactic Empire, Maul resurfaced as a crime lord and ran his syndicate, the Crimson Dawn, from the shadows, but is eventually stranded on the Sith world of Malachor. He escaped years later, after meeting Ezra Bridger, whom he then forced to assist in locating Obi-Wan. Finding him to be hiding on Tatooine, Maul fought his old nemesis one last time and was mortally wounded. Before dying, Maul took comfort in the fact that Obi-Wan was looking after who he believed to be the "Chosen One", who would one day avenge them by destroying the Sith.


title: Sith

text: Darth Tyranus (Count Dooku) was a human Dark Lord of the Sith and the second apprentice of Darth Sidious, first appearing in "". Born to the royal family of the planet Serenno, Dooku was rejected by his family as an infant upon the discovery of his connection to the Force, which his father in particular feared and, as such, abandoned him after contacting the Jedi Order to come and take him to Coruscant. During his training under Yoda, Dooku proved himself to be both strong with the Force and a skilled duelist, regarded by many as one of the best in the Order. Upon becoming a Jedi Master, he left the Order and returned to Serenno to reclaim his title and heritage as a nobleman. He later fell to the dark side and became a Sith Lord and Darth Sidious' puppet. Dooku helped Sidious with his galactic conquest plans, recruiting the bounty hunter Jango Fett as the template of the clone army that would be used by the Galactic Republic, and forming the Confederacy of Independent Systems from various planets and systems that wanted to become independent from the Republic, resulting in the Clone Wars. Dooku served as the figurehead of the Separatist Alliance throughout the Clone Wars, until meeting his demise at the hands of Anakin Skywalker in "". In his final moments, Dooku realized that Sidious had merely used him to aid his schemes, and had planned to have him killed and replaced by someone more powerful all along.


title: Sith

text: Darth Vader (Anakin Skywalker) was a human-cyborg Dark Lord of the Sith and the third and final apprentice of Darth Sidious, who first appeared in the "Star Wars" original trilogy, and later in the prequel trilogy. As the Jedi hero Anakin Skywalker, he fought alongside his master Obi-Wan Kenobi during the galaxy-wide Clone Wars, but was slowly seduced to the dark side by Darth Sidious. After helping Sidious kill Jedi Master Mace Windu, he swore allegiance to the Sith and was given the name Darth Vader before setting out to destroy all Jedi left on Coruscant. After being sent by Sidious to assassinate the Separatist council members on Mustafar, Vader was badly injured in a duel with Kenobi, resulting in the loss of his remaining organic arm, both legs, and severe burn injuries. He was saved by Sidious, and encased in a black suit of armor with extensive cybernetics which kept him alive. As the Galactic Empire was established and continued to grow, Vader became the Emperor's immensely feared second-in-command and was given the task of finding surviving Jedi and the Rebel Alliance's base. After the destruction of the first Death Star, Vader was charged with tracking down the Rebel Alliance and destroying their headquarters. However, the actions of his son, Luke Skywalker, eventually turned Vader against his master, resulting in both Sidious' and Vader's deaths, as well as the fulfilment of the Chosen One prophecy.


title: Sith

text: Darth Plagueis was a Muun Dark Lord of the Sith and Darth Sidious' master, first referenced in "". In the film, Sidious (as Palpatine) uses Plagueis' story to seduce Anakin Skywalker to the dark side, claiming that Plagueis' abilities in the Force grew to such an extent that he could create life by influencing microscopic Force-sensitive entities called "midi-chlorians," and even save people from dying. According to the Rule of Two, Plagueis was eventually killed by Sidious in his sleep, who subsequently became the new Sith Master and would later take on an apprentice of his own.


title: Sith

text: Plagueis is the main character of the "Legends" novel, "", which explains much of his backstory, including his training under Darth Tenebrous, mentorship of Palpatine, and early plans to undermine the Galactic Republic and drive the Jedi Order into ruins. The novel also reveals that Plagueis' public identity was Hego Damsk II, a member of the Intergalactic Banking Clan.


title: Sith

text: Darth Bane (Dessel) was a human Dark Lord of the Sith and the sole survivor of the Sith Order in the aftermath of the ancient war between the Jedi and the Sith. He is best known for establishing the Rule of Two, which was considered the beginning of the modern Sith within the "Star Wars" canon. This law stated that there must be only two Sith Lords at a time: a master to embody power, and an apprentice to crave it and eventually overthrow his/her master and adopt an apprentice of his/her own. He is the main character of the "Darth Bane" Trilogy by Drew Karpyshyn, which part of the "Legends" continuity.


title: Sith

text: In the "Star Wars" canon, Darth Bane's backstory as the only Sith survivor of the Jedi-Sith war and the creator of the Rule of Two is mostly unchanged, though not much else is known about him. His only canonical appearance was in the episode "Sacrifice" of "", where his spirit was encountered by Yoda on the Sith homeworld of Moraband. It is revealed by the novelization of "The Rise of Skywalker" and Darth Sidious in his book, titled "The Secrets of the Sith" that the Rule of Two is said to merely be a pale imitation, an unworthy but necessary successor to the Doctrine of the Dyad, a concept centered on the unbreakable Force-bond between two Force-sensitive beings collectively known as a Force Dyad.


title: Sith

text: Darth Momin was a humanoid Dark Lord of Sith who appeared in the comic book "" and briefly in "Lando". Once a sculptor, he was imprisoned at a young age for his creations, which scared most people who saw them. Momin was eventually rescued by a Sith Lady named Shaa, who trained him in the dark side of the Force until he became more powerful than her and killed her. Momin then built a superweapon to destroy a city and perished when the Jedi intervened to stop him, losing control over the energy he wielded and causing his physical body to be destroyed, leaving behind only his mask with his spirit inside. Many years later, the mask was retrieved from the Jedi Archive vault by Darth Sidious, who gave it to Darth Vader as a gift for his journey to Mustafar, which Vader sought to make his personal stronghold. After Momin's spirit killed some of his personnel, Vader examined the mask and learned of Momin's past, before letting him possess the body of a Mustafarian and build a fortress for him. Shortly after Momin finished building of the fortress, Vader was distracted by an invasion of Mustafarians, which Momin took advantage of to open the door to the Dark Side and resurrect himself. However, after challenging Vader to a duel, Momin met a quick demise by being crushed with a giant rock. Despite Momin's death, his dark essence remained in the mask for several more years. At one point, Momin's mask was aboard the Imperial yacht "Imperialis", when a group of thieves led by Lando Calrissian attempt to rob the ship. After Momin's spirit possessed the bodies of two thieves, the others were forced to abandon them and blow up the ship, seemingly destroying Momin's mask, and his spirit with it. Luke Skywalker later learned about Momin and his history during his travels across the galaxy, and described the Sith Lord's role in building Vader's fortress in his book, titled "The Secrets of the Jedi".


title: Sith

text: Following the 2012 acquisition of Lucasfilm by The Walt Disney Company, Lucasfilm rebranded most of the licensed "Star Wars" novels, comics, and other fictional media published since the original 1977 film (previously identified as the "Star Wars" Expanded Universe) as "Star Wars Legends" and declared them non-canonical to the franchise in April 2014.


title: Sith

text: The Sith feature heavily in many stories of the "Star Wars" Expanded Universe (EU), appearing in a variety of media created prior to the advent of the 2015 feature film "". Future authors and screenwriters are not required to honor all of the events depicted in this material, but the Expanded Universe has remained a source of creative inspiration. The EU thoroughly details the schism between the dissident “Dark Jedi” and the Jedi establishment that led to the creation of the Sith Order, as well a series of conflicts between the Sith, Jedi and the Galactic Republic spanning the millennia prior to the events of the "Star Wars" motion picture series, and certain events thereafter.


title: Sith

text: In the EU, the Sith trace their origins to the followers of a dissident Jedi named Ajunta Pall, who endorsed the use of the Dark Side of the Force, contrary to Jedi orthodoxy. After Pall and his “Dark Jedi” followers were exiled for their practices, they eventually settled on a planet named Korriban, which was occupied by the "Sith," a red-skinned humanoid race with a high prevalence of Force-sensitives. Over the course of centuries of intermingling between the ethnic Sith and Dark Jedi, the name "Sith" would come to apply to the martial philosophy and political affiliation created by the former Jedi exiles on Korriban, rather than a specific race. This Sith regime would strike out at the Galactic Republic and Jedi on numerous occasions. Notable conflicts between the Sith and the Galactic Republic include the "Great Hyperspace War," in which the Sith would launch a massive invasion of the Republic but succumb to infighting, and the “Sith Holocaust,” in which the Galactic Republic failed in its attempt to exterminate the Sith from known space, leading the Sith survivors to take a vow of eternal vengeance on the Galactic Republic. The EU also describes the exploits of Sith characters following the collapse of Emperor Palpatine's Galactic Empire and the restoration of the Republic, such as the attempt by “Darth Krayt” to establish a New Sith Order on Korriban.


title: Sith

text: The first Expanded Universe novel was "Splinter of the Mind's Eye", written by Alan Dean Foster and published in 1978. The setting for the novel takes place between "Episode IV: A New Hope" and "". It provides a new adventure that includes Princess Leia, R2-D2, C-3PO, Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader. In the story, Darth Vader tries to get the Kyber Crystal to use it for his evil schemes.


title: Sith

text: Other novels that depict Sith characters are "" and "Cloak of Deception" by James Luceno. "Cloak of Deception" describes the political background surrounding the Republic in the time period before "The Phantom Menace", as well as Darth Sidious' plans to rule the galaxy, starting with the blockade of Naboo.


title: Sith

text: In "Darth Maul: Saboteur", the Sith Lord Darth Sidious sends Darth Maul to destroy InterGalactic Ore and Lommite Limited.


title: Sith

text: In "", by Michael Reaves, Darth Sidious sends his apprentice, Darth Maul, to investigate the traitor who leaked the secret of his plan to take down the Republic. "Shadow Hunter" provided insight into the Sith while detailing how Darth Sidious brought his plan of usurpation into action.


title: Sith

text: Dark Horse Comics purchased the copyrights to several Star Wars stories. With their publication of "Star Wars: Dark Empire #1" in 1991, they initiated what has become a large line of "Star Wars" manga and comics. The Sith appear as major antagonists throughout this story's plot. Many of the comics that were published helped expand the backstory of the characters and followed the rise and fall of the Dark Lords of the Sith.


title: Sith

text: Star Wars video games have also been adapted from the plots of the films, novels, and TV shows. The games follow the basic plot of the story, but they can also include alternative, non-canonical, endings depending on which character is being played. Some of the video games that have a heavy focus on Sith characters and lore are "", released in 2003, "", released in 2004 and "", released in 2008.


title: Sith

text: Darth Caedus (Jacen Solo) was a Dark Lord of the Sith born as the oldest son of Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo. A Jedi hero of the Yuuzhan Vong War, he eventually fell to the dark side years later and masterminded the Second Galactic Civil War. He was eventually killed by his twin sister Jaina for his actions.


title: Sith

text: Marka Ragnos was an ancient Sith-human hybrid, who lived during the time of the first Sith Empire, and seized the title of Dark Lord of the Sith, serving as the ruler of the Empire. After his death, two Sith Lords, Naga Sadow and Ludo Kressh, fought to occupy his throne, only for Ragnos' spirit to appear before them and claim that only the most worthy should succeed him. Ragnos lived on as a Force spirit after his death, trapped within his tomb in the Valley of the Dark Lords on Korriban. A thousand years after the Dark Lord's death, Exar Kun summoned Ragnos from his grave through the use of talismans. Ragnos crowned Exar Kun as the new Dark Lord, with Ulic Qel-Droma as Kun's apprentice, as an attempt to resurrect the lost empire thousands of years prior. Several thousands of years after that, in the video game "" (set during the New Republic era), a cult dedicated to Ragnos, led by the Dark Jedi Tavion Axmis, intended to resurrect the Sith Lord using an old artifact called the Scepter of Ragnos. After absorbing Force energy from numerous locations across the galaxy using the scepter, Tavion and her cult traveled to Korriban and almost succeeded in resurrecting Ragnos, but were stopped by Luke Skywalker's New Jedi Order. Inside Ragnos' tomb, the Jedi Knight Jaden Korr defeated Tavion, before Ragnos' spirit possessed her body, attempting to kill the Jedi himself. However, Jaden was able to defeat Ragnos, whose spirit left Tavion's body and returned to the depths of the Force, swearing revenge against the Jedi.


title: Sith

text: Darth Malak (Alek) is the main antagonist of "". Once a Jedi Knight and Revan's best friend, he fought him alongside in the Mandalorian Wars. Later, Alek and Revan unwittingly discovered the Sith Empire in the Unknown Regions and were captured by the Sith Emperor, who, using Sith sorcery, turned them to the dark side, but the two broke free from his control and formed their own Sith Empire using the Star Forge to wage war on the Republic, with Revan as the leader and Alek, now Darth Malak, as his Sith Apprentice. At some point, Malak attempted to kill Revan and take over the Sith Empire for himself, but was defeated and had his entire lower jaw cut off, forcing him to don a prosthetic jaw instead. Later, when Revan prepared to battle the Jedi who boarded his flagship, Malak betrayed him, ordering the ships under his command to fire on Revan's flagship's bridge, so that he could take over the Sith Empire for himself. However, Revan survived the ordeal and was taken to the Jedi Council Enclave, where he had his memory wiped, so that he would become a Jedi once again. Eventually, Revan faced off against Malak, who revealed the truth of his identity, but was ultimately killed by him, which also led to the downfall of his Sith Empire.


title: Sith

text: Darth Traya (Kreia) is a mentor to the "Jedi Exile" and the hidden main antagonist of "". She is revealed to have been a Sith Master at the end of the game, and is ultimately killed in battle.


title: Sith

text: Darth Sion, also known as the Lord of Pain, is an antagonist in "Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II – The Sith Lords". Alongside Darth Nihilus, he served as one of Traya's apprentices, until ultimately betraying her and driving her into exile. Sion managed to achieve immortality by calling on his pain, anger and hatred every time he was facing certain death, at the expense of all-consuming agony, which also led to his extremely disfigured appearance. The player's character eventually defeated Sion, and was then given the option to turn him back to the light side. Regardless, upon being shown the price he paid for immortality, Sion finally let go of his hate and allowed himself to die permanently.


title: Sith

text: Darth Nihilus, also known as the Lord of Hunger, is an antagonist in "Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II – The Sith Lords". Alongside Darth Sion, he served as one of Traya's apprentices, until ultimately betraying her and driving her into exile. Nihilus imbued his dark soul into his mask and robes and had the power to drain the life force out of any living thing. Following the betrayal of his master, Nihilus used the might of the Sith Armada not to conquer planets, but to contain them so that he could "feed" off the Force energy of each planet's lifeforms, wiping planets of life. However, Nihilus was later drawn out and tricked into launching an attack on Telos, believing it to contain the last Jedi. The Exile confronted Nihilus on his ship, and Nihilus was killed either after his former slave Visas sacrificed herself due to their shared link in the Force, or after his attempt to feast on the Exile's connection to the Force backfired and weakened him. Despite his death, Nihilus' soul would continue to live in his mask and robes for millennia to come, as well as inside his own Sith holocron.


title: Sith

text: Known for much of his 1300-year life as "the Sith Emperor", Lord Vitiate was a sociopathic young lord in one of the earliest iterations of the Sith Empire. When that empire fell, he led an exodus of survivors to the other side of the galaxy to establish a continuation of it, with himself as Emperor. It was Vitiate who corrupted Revan and Malak, but Revan's redemption and Malak's defeat seemingly derailed his plans. Three hundred years after Revan's disappearance, the Emperor launched a surprise attack on the Republic, setting the stage for the video game "".


title: Sith

text: Darth Malgus (Veradun) is a major antagonist in "". A human Dark Lord of the Sith who trained under Vindican, Malgus served the Sith Empire during the Great Galactic War against the Republic. Following the recapture of Korriban from the Jedi, Malgus killed his master and later led a surprise assault on Alderaan, only to be defeated by his nemesis and former opponent from Korriban, Satele Shan. Malgus was severely injured in the fight against Shan, forcing him to wear a respiratory apparatus for the rest of his life. Sometime later, Malgus was tasked by his superior, Darth Angral, with leading an assault team on the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, which Malgus and his forces destroyed, disgracing the Jedi Order in the eyes of the Republic. Although Malgus believed that the Battle of Coruscant was the first step of destroying the Republic, it only served as leverage in the peace negotiations that took place on Alderaan. While the Alderaanian summit progressed, the Sith settled into an occupation of Coruscant. Malgus was placed in charge of orbital security, but the Sith Lord defied his orders and traveled back to Coruscant's surface to strike against the renegade Jedi Aryn Leneer, who wanted to avenge her master Ven Zallow, killed by Malgus during the attack on the Jedi Temple. Although Leneer ultimately failed, the conflict caused Malgus to become disillusioned with the Empire and to kill his lover Eleena Daru, seeing their relationship as a weakness that prevented him from preserving his own power, which he later used to cleanse the Empire of the politicians whom he blamed for allowing the Republic to survive. During the Cold War years that followed the successful peace negotiations, Malgus led Sith forces into the Unknown Regions, claiming previously-unknown territories for the Empire. Towards the end of the war, following the presumed death of the Sith Emperor and his service on the Dark Council, Malgus formed his own Empire, free of the infighting of the Dark Council. However, the Republic and the Sith Empire forces soon teamed up to fight against Malgus' Empire and managed to track him down to his secret base, where they defeated him. Despite his apparent death, Malgus later resurfaced during the Invasion of Ossus at the start of the Third Galactic War, once again serving as a commander within the Sith Empire. However, following the Battle of Corellia, Malgus went rogue, determined to expunge all physical and mental restraints used to keep him under control. Thousands of years after his death, Malgus was still remembered as one of the most powerful Sith Lords to have ever lived. At one point, Darth Sidious acquired some surviving excerpts of Malgus's journals, which he bounded into his "Book of Sith", an anthology of Sith historical writings.


title: Sith

text: Dark Side Force-wielders who use the dark side of the Force, but don't follow the Sith ideology and, therefore, are not considered official Sith. Some can be trained by a Sith master as an informal apprentice or assassin, in which case they are called Sith Shadow Hands.


title: Sith

text: Asajj Ventress was a Dathomirian Sith Shadow Hand trained under Darth Tyranus (Count Dooku) and an antagonist of the "". She first appeared in the 2003 microseries "", in which Darth Sidious assigned her to kill the then-Padawan Anakin Skywalker. After tracking the young war hero to the planet Muunilinst, Ventress engaged Anakin's Republic fighter forces fighting above the Separatist-occupied world and baited him in a chase to Yavin 4, where a fierce battle from the forest to the Massassi temple took place. Though she initially gained the upper hand in the ensuing lightsaber duel, Anakin called upon his immense connection to the Force to brutally overpower her, causing the Dathomirian to fall over the edge of a cliff. However, survived the landing and continued to serve her master throughout the Clone Wars on several occasions.


title: Sith

text: In "Star Wars: The Clone Wars", Ventress was a recurring antagonist during the first seasons, as she assisted Dooku with several schemes, most of which were thwarted by the Jedi. After being replaced with Savage Opress for her failures, Ventress returned to the Nightsisters until General Grievous led a massacre against them, which only she and Mother Talzin survived. From there, she helped Boba Fett's team of bounty hunters on a dangerous mission, which thus marked the start of her own bounty hunting career. Ventres later appeared in the novel "", which was intended for a story arc in the TV series. In the novel, she teamed up with Jedi Quinlan Vos to assassinate Dooku, and, along the way, the two fell in love. However, their attempt to kill Dooku failed, and Dooku captured Vos, turning him to the dark side. Ventress managed to turn Vos back, but died saving him from Dooku. She was buried on Dathomir, amongst her fallen sisters.


title: Sith

text: Savage Opress was a Dathomirian Zabrak Sith Shadow Hand first trained under Darth Tyranus (Count Dooku) and later under his own brother, Darth Maul, as well as a major antagonist in "". Originally a Nightbrother under Mother Talzin on Dathomir, he was handpicked by Asajj Ventress as part of her scheme to kill Dooku for the attempt on her life. He was eventually altered by the Nightsisters, making him more of a berserker on Ventress' call to the point of killing his brother Feral without remorse. Opress managed to become Tyranus' new Shadow Hand and learned only a little about the ways of the Sith before Ventress had him help her fight their master due to his actions under him getting unwanted attention from the Jedi. However, in the heat of the moment and provoked by both of them, Opress tried to kill both Tyranus and Ventress before escaping back to Dathomir. There, he was instructed by Mother Talzin to find Maul so that he could complete his training to defend himself against the numerous enemies he had made. After finding his long-lost brother as a shell of his former self on a junk planet, Opress managed to stir up Maul's grudge with Obi-Wan Kenobi to aid him in his revenge against the Jedi. From there, the two Zabrak brothers were able to set up a Confederacy against the Republic separate from the Separatists, and soon took over Mandalore. However, Darth Sidious, who considered Maul's sudden rise to power a threat to his rule, arrived on Mandalore and fought Maul and Opress. The latter met a quick demise as he was stabbed by Sidious' two lightsabers and died in his brother's arms moments later.


title: Sith

text: Quinlan Vos was a Kiffar Jedi Master during the Clone Wars. Near the end of the war, he partnered with Asajj Ventress (who was working as a bounty hunter at the time) to assassinate Count Dooku, and ended up developing feelings for her. After being captured by Dooku, Vos willingly turned to the dark side and became his apprentice, in hopes he could discover the identity of Dooku's master, Darth Sidious. During his time as an agent for the Confederacy of Independent Systems, he became known as "Admiral Enigma". Vos was eventually turned back to the light side by Ventress, at the cost of her own life. After respectfully burying Ventress on her homeworld, Dathomir, Vos was reinstated into the Jedi Order and continued fighting in the Clone Wars on the Republic's side. He later presumambly survived the Great Jedi Purge.


title: Sith

text: The Inquisitorius, formally known as the Inquisitors, were an organization of Force-sensitive warriors in the service of the Galactic Empire who became defunct at some point before "A New Hope". Most of them were former Jedi, who had lost their faith in the Jedi Order and succumbed to the dark side, during or shortly after the Clone Wars. They were all trained by the Sith Lord Darth Vader, who tasked them with hunting down other survivors of the Great Jedi Purge, as well as other Force-sensitive individuals, mostly children, to prevent them from becoming future Jedi.


title: Sith

text: Snoke was a Force-sensitive artificial being created by Darth Sidious and his Sith Eternal cult on Exegol, and a major antagonist in the "Star Wars" sequel trilogy. After Sidious' death and the fall of the Empire, Snoke became the Supreme Leader of the First Order and seduced Ben Solo to the dark side, training him to become his apprentice, Kylo Ren. He was also behind the destruction of Luke Skywalker's Jedi Temple and the deaths of most of his students, in an attempt to wipe out the Jedi Order once and for all. He was ultimately killed by Kylo, after failing to foresee his betrayal. Following Snoke's death, Kylo took over as Supreme Leader of the First Order.


title: Sith

text: Kylo Ren (Ben Solo) was a former Jedi and powerful dark side wielder, and the central antagonist of the "Star Wars" sequel trilogy. He was born as the son of Leia Organa and Han Solo, and trained under his uncle, Luke Skywalker, to become a Jedi, but was seduced to the dark side by Snoke. Adopting the alias Kylo Ren, he helped eliminate his uncle's new generation of Jedi and became the leader of the Knights of Ren and a high-ranking member of the First Order. He trained under Snoke to become a powerful dark side wielder, and later proved his loyalty by killing his father when he tried to help him get redeemed. However, Kylo eventually betrayed and killed his master after siding with the Jedi Padawan Rey, with whom he shared a unique connection called a "dyad in the Force". However, instead of turning back to the light side, he took over as the new Supreme Leader of the First Order, and invited Rey to join him, but she refused. Later, Kylo had a confrontation with Luke, only to discover that he was a Force projection, meant to distract him and allow the Resistance to escape; nonetheless, Luke died as a result of the effort to create the projection, leaving Rey the only living Jedi. Eventually, Kylo discovered that Darth Sidious was still alive and plotted to kill this potential rival, but instead sided with him after the latter revealed the Final Order, a massive fleet of "Xyston"-class Star Destroyers built by the Sith Eternal, which he promised to give Kylo control of in exchange for killing Rey, revealed to be his granddaughter. However, Kylo planned to have Rey join him so that they could kill Sidious and take over the galaxy for themselves, but she refused and attacked him. During the duel, Kylo was distracted by his mother reaching out to him through the Force (at the cost of her own life), allowing Rey to defeat him. After a conversation with a memory of his late father, Ben Solo was redeemed and came to Rey's aid in defeating Sidious. After Rey died killing the Sith Lord, Ben revived her using the Force, at the cost of his own life.


title: Sith

text: The Knights of Ren were an organization of masked Force-wielding warriors, who serve as antagonists in the "Star Wars" sequel trilogy. The Knights were neither Sith or Jedi, but a new generation of dark side warriors that emerged to fill the void left by the supposed demise of the last Sith Lords, Darth Sidious and Darth Vader. They had a code, to which they were flexible in the following: living life the way they wanted, taking what the galaxy gave them, and consuming what the dark side sent them. Their name came from a lightsaber called "Ren", which was at the base of their code and could only be wielded by their leader. While originated numbering in dozens, by the time of the rise of the First Order, the Knights consisted of six indivudals named Ap'lek, Cardo, Kuruk, Trudgen, Ushar, and Vicrul, and were originally led by a man named Ren, who knew Supreme Leader Snoke. After Ben Solo's fall to the dark side, they allowed him to join and demanded that he get one "good kill" to prove himself. Ben eventually killed Ren himself and became the new leader of the Knights, Kylo Ren, in addition to knighting fellow former Jedi Padawan Voe. In "", the six Knights join Darth Sidious' Sith Eternal following Kylo's redemption, and are killed by the latter on Exegol.


title: Sith

text: Starkiller (born Galen Marek) was the informal apprentice of Darth Vader, and the protagonist of the "" video games and literature. Born to a fugitive Jedi Knight after the Clone Wars, he was unnaturally strong in the use of the Force. Vader realized his potential when he came to kill his father, and subsequently raised him as his secret apprentice, giving him the code-name "Starkiller". When he reached adulthood, Starkiller was sent to eliminate several fugitive Jedi, only to then be betrayed by Vader. Eventually, Starkiller turned to the light side and assisted in the formation of the Rebel Alliance, before defeating his former master and sacrificing himself for the Rebellion in a fight against Darth Sidious. Vader later cloned Starkiller in hopes of creating the perfect apprentice, but the clone followed the same path as the original Starkiller: turning to the light side and joining the Rebellion.


title: Sith

text: Tol Skorr was a human former Jedi Knight that was trained under Darth Tyranus (Count Dooku). He served as Dooku's bodyguard during the Clone Wars, and was very much disliked by Quinlan Vos. When Vos was revealed to have been spying on Dooku, Skorr and Asajj Ventress were sent to kill Vos. Skorr was ultimately killed by Vos, who Force-pushed him into lava.


title: Sith

text: HK-47 was a Hunter-Killer-series assassin droid introduced in the video game He was constructed by Darth Revan in the aftermath of the Mandalorian Wars and was sent throughout the galaxy on missions by the Sith Lord and assassinated those deemed by Revan as threats to galactic stability.


title: Sith

text: Bastila Shan was a Jedi Master introduced in the video game "". Shan used the force to stabilise Darth Revan, who was near death after his ship had been fired upon in an act of betrayal by his apprentice Darth Malak. This act created a bond between Shan and Revan, and Shan eventually fell in love with Revan while they were tasked with finding the Star Forge shipyard (Revan was retrained as a Jedi after his memories were erased by the Jedi Council). While hunting for the shipyard, Shan and Revan, who were accompanied by Carth Onasi, were captured by Malak. After escaping their cells aboard Malak's flagship, Shan was imprisoned by Malak after a duel to allow Revan and Onasi to escape from the Sith. After a week of torture by Malak, Shan fell to the dark side, and took her place as Malak's apprentice. In time, Shan would duel Revan, Jolee Bindo and Juhani (Star Wars), and, while she was no match for the Jedi, attempted to convince Revan to join her to become the Dark Lord of the Sith. Revan rejected the offer and made the choice of a true Jedi. Later on, after being defeated by Darth Revan in a duel on the Star Forge, Bastila was convinced to return to the path of the light, renouncing the dark side and confessing her love for Revan. Revan went on to defeat Darth Malak, upon the Star Forge, before he and Bastila were married on Coruscant.


title: Sith

text: The 2019 film "" depicts thousands of Sith cultists and loyalists known as the Sith Eternal. They are the main antagonistic faction of the "Star Wars" sequel trilogy. They are located on the Sith planet Exegol, which is described in the film as the "hidden world of the Sith". The film depicts the Sith loyalists as having built the Final Order, a massive fleet of "Xyston"-class Star Destroyers, at the behest of Emperor Palpatine (Darth Sidious). They are also revealed to have artificially created and cloned Snoke, whom Palpatine used as a puppet to control the First Order and seduce Kylo Ren to the dark side. At the end of the film, the Sith Eternal cultists are present during Palpatine's rejuvenation through the Force and his demise at the hands of Rey, the last Jedi and Palpatine's granddaughter. The Sith Eternal cultists are disintegrated in the explosion following Palpatine's death.


title: Sith

text: The novelization of "The Rise of Skywalker" goes into more detail about how Palpatine transferred his consciousness into the cloned body the Sith Eternal prepared for him.


title: Sith

text: Prominent Sith Lords Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine / Darth Sidious have become iconic villains in popular culture. Their personae are frequently used as exemplars of Machiavelianism, authoritarianism, brutality and evil in serious, humorous and satirical settings. Palpatine is archetypal as the "Evil Emperor"—a cunning tyrant who rules through deception, propaganda, fear and oppression. Although usually considered as a villainous "enforcer" of such power, Darth Vader has also been regarded as a tragic figure and cautionary study in the corruption of a hero who loses sight of the greater good and resorts to evil practices out of fear and desperation. A "turn to the Dark Side" has become a popular idiom to describe an (often misguided) individual or institution's embrace of evil out of a desire for power.


title: Swarovski

text: Swarovski (, ) is an Austrian producer of glass based in Wattens, Austria, and has existed as a family-owned business since its founding in 1895 by Daniel Swarovski.


title: Swarovski

text: The company is split into three major industry areas: the Swarovski Crystal Business, which primarily produces crystal glass, jewelry and accessories; Swarovski Optik, which produces optical instruments such as telescopes, telescopic sights for rifles, and binoculars; and Tyrolit, a manufacturer of grinding, sawing, drilling, and dressing tools, as well as a supplier of tools and machines.


title: Swarovski

text: Today, the Swarovski Crystal Business is one of the highest grossing business units within Swarovski, with a global reach of approximately 3,000 stores in roughly 170 countries, more than 29,000 employees, and a revenue of about 2.7 billion euros (in 2018).


title: Swarovski

text: Swarovski is now run by the fifth generation of family members. It has been announced, however, that for the first time in the company's key history, senior management positions will come to be fulfilled by non-family members during the course of 2022.


title: Swarovski

text: Daniel Swarovski was born in northern Bohemia (now the Czech Republic), from the current border with Poland. His father was a glass cutter and owned a small glass factory. It was there that the young Swarovski served an apprenticeship, becoming skilled in the art of glass-cutting. In 1892 he patented an electric cutting machine that facilitated the production of crystal glass.


title: Swarovski

text: In 1895, Swarovski, financier Armand Kosmann, and Franz Weis founded the Swarovski company, originally known as A. Kosmann, D. Swarovski & Co. and shortened to KS & Co. The company established a crystal-cutting factory in Wattens, Tyrol (Austria), to take advantage of local hydroelectricity for the energy-intensive grinding processes Daniel Swarovski had patented. This factory was home to the first crystal-cutting machines that revolutionized the jewelry business by creating a method for the mass production of crystals. Swarovski's vision was to make "a diamond for everyone" by making crystals affordable.


title: Swarovski

text: In 1899, it first used the edelweiss flower in its logo and expanded to France, where it was known as Pierres Taillées du Tyrol ("Cut stones from Tyrol"). In 1919, Swarovski founded Tyrolit, bringing the grinding and polishing tools from the crystal business into a different market.


title: Swarovski

text: In 1935, Swarovski's son Wilhelm created a customized pair of binoculars, which led to the launch of Swarovski Optik 14 years later. Swarovski Optik manufactures optical instruments such as binoculars, spotting scopes, rifle scopes and telescopes.


title: Swarovski

text: Remaining a family-run business, Swarovski appointed Robert Buchbauer, the great-great-grandson of company founder Daniel Swarovski, as its new CEO in April 2020 with Mathias Margreiter serving as the company's CFO. Buchbauer had previously served as chairman of the company's executive board and as head of its consumer goods division, positions he retained after being appointed as CEO. Reported at the time as a major company shake-up, the change would see the founder's great-great granddaughter, Nadja Swarovski, lose her roles managing the company's communications strategy along with its fine jewelry label "Atelier Swarovski"; she had previously become the first female member of the Swarovski executive board in 2012, a role she retained along with responsibility for the company's sustainability efforts and its charitable foundation. Alongside the executive changes, the company also closed 750 retail stores, laid off some 6,000 employees, and promoted its B2B creative director Giovanna Battaglia Engelbert to serve as the Global Creative Director of Swarovski Group, the first so-named person in the company's 125 year history.


title: Swarovski

text: Tasked with the full creative direction of Swarovksi and with the responsibility to "re-imagine [its] product portfolio across all divisions", Engelbert released her first retail collection for the company in February 2021 with a second collection released in September of the same year; both drew on archival references to designs that founder Daniel Swarovski had created for the company. Expanding the company's retail offering, Engelbert also hired Swarovski-family member Marina Raphael to design and develop its first handbag line, to be released under the company's Atelier Swarovski marque.


title: Swarovski

text: Further shake-ups to the company's management would follow in late 2021; less than 18 months into their roles, Robert Buchbauer and Mathias Margreiter were announced to be stepping down from their CEO and CFO positions. Shareholder disputes over restructuring plans for the company were cited as the cause of the change. In October 2021, Michele Molon was appointed as the company's interim CEO with Frederik Westring announced as its CFO. The change would mark the first time that Swarovski would be led by a non-family member, with Italian-born Molon long having worked at the company but unrelated to founder Daniel Swarovski.


title: Swarovski

text: Members of the Swarovski family were early, active and enthusiastic champions of National Socialism, and at least six of its members maintained membership in the illegal party prior to Austria's annexation to National Socialist Germany on 12 March 1938. Three weeks earlier, 500 marchers in the Tyrolean town of Wattens held a torchlight procession that ended with chants of "Sieg Heil" and "Heil Hitler." The majority of the participants, police determined, were Swarovski plant employees, among them Swarovski family heirs Alfred, Wilhelm and Friedrich.


title: Swarovski

text: In its report to the state police on 14 February 1947, the Innsbruck district administrator called company head Alfred Swarovski "an enthusiastic member of the NSDAP." Alfred Swarovski praised Hitler at business gatherings and took actions as a regional business leader to ensure that "Tyrolean industry could be integrated as smoothly as possible into the enormous gears of the economy of Greater Germany and into the National Socialist economic order." He sent "grateful loyalty greetings" to Adolf Hitler on his 49th birthday and arranged a donation of 100,000 shillings for Hitler to establish a holiday home in Tyrol.


title: Swarovski

text: The company exploited its political connections and stewardship of the regional business association to emerge stronger from the Nazi era. During the war it diversified its production and expanded its business lines, adding abrasives, optical devices, telescopes, binoculars and other product lines during the war and growing from 500 to almost 1,200 employees between the "Anschluss" and March 1944.


title: Swarovski

text: "From my party affiliation, I only took advantage of the fact that it was possible for me as a party member to initiate the negotiations necessary for maintaining the company and to bring it to a successful conclusion with the responsible economic agencies of the Reich." Alfred Swarovski told the Innsbruck People's Court after the war.


title: Swarovski

text: In 1994, historian Horst Schreiber wrote about Swarovski's past but was not granted access to company archives.


title: Swarovski

text: The contemporary Swarovski company commissioned historian Dieter Stiefel as "a step towards dealing with our history in a serious and very pro-active manner," board spokesman Markus Langes-Swarovski said in 2018, however the study was not published because, Langes-Swarovski said, "Swarovski is a company that generally tries to keep the owners' personal stories largely out of the public eye because it does nothing for the business."


title: Swarovski

text: Swarovski Group's website omits mention of the Nazi period in the "Our History" section, skipping the years between 1931 and 1949 on its timeline.


title: Swarovski

text: Swarovski produces products such as glass sculptures, miniature, jewellery, rhinestones, home decor and chandeliers.


title: Swarovski

text: All sculptures are marked with a logo. The original edelweiss flower Swarovski logo was replaced by an S.A.L. logo, which was replaced with the swan logo in 1988.


title: Swarovski

text: Swarovski glass is produced by melting a mixture of quartz sand, soda, potash and other ingredients at high temperatures. Lead, usually used in the form of lead tetroxide, is not used anymore and all Swarovski Crystal glass produced since 2012 has been lead-free. To create crystal glass that lets light refract in a rainbow spectrum, Swarovski coats some of its products with special metallic chemical coatings. For example, Aurora Borealis, or "AB", gives the surface a rainbow appearance. Other coatings are named by the company, including Crystal Transmission, Volcano, Aurum, Shimmer, and Dorado. Coatings may be applied to only part of an object; others are coated twice, and thus are designated AB 2X, Dorado 2X, etc.


title: Swarovski

text: Swarovski has developed a unique technology that preserves the brilliance and brightness of crystals without the use of lead dioxide. The hologram on the back of the package contains the inscription: advanced crystal superior brilliant lead-free. Thanks to this, Swarovski crystals are safe to use.


title: Swarovski

text: In 2004, Swarovski released Xilion, a copyrighted cut designed to optimize the brilliance of Roses (components with flat backs) and Chatons (diamond cut).


title: Swarovski

text: The Swarovski Group includes Tyrolit (makers of abrasive and cutting tools); Swareflex (reflective and luminous road markings); Swarovski Gemstones (synthetic and natural gemstones); and Swarovski Optik (optical instruments such as binoculars and rifle scopes).


title: Swarovski

text: Since 2006, the Royal Canadian Mint has issued collectors' coins with Swarovski crystal components. The 2006 crystal snowflake coin was gold (face value $300), with the reverse having six lens-shaped iridescent crystals on a snowflake. Subsequent years' crystal snowflake coins have been $20 silver coins featuring different coloured crystals. In 2018, the Canadian mint issued 12 different birthstone coins, each with a different Swarovski crystal. The Canadian mint's 12-coin 2019 zodiac series will feature 20 Swarovski crystals on each coin.


title: Swarovski

text: In 2014, Tristan da Cunha issued a five crown Christmas coin in which a small Swarovski crystal is set in the guiding star behind a coloured picture of one of the magi.


title: Swarovski

text: The company runs a crystal-themed museum, the "Swarovski Kristallwelten (Crystal Worlds)" at its original Wattens site (near Innsbruck, Austria). The Crystal Worlds Center is fronted by a grass-covered head, the mouth of which is a fountain.


title: Swarovski

text: Swarovski work was exhibited at Asia's "Fashion Jewel5ry & Accessories Fair" based on the concept of a single continuous beam of fragmented light travelling through a crystal.


title: Swarovski

text: In 2012, Swarovski collaborated with the London Design Museum to present an exhibition mixing digital technology with crystals.


title: Swarovski

text: Swarovski's figurines are collectible; its first produced figurine was a stylized mouse. A smaller version of this mouse, now labelled the "replica mouse," is still sold to this day.


title: Swarovski

text: Swarovski Elements crystals were included in some collectible silver coins issued by the Royal Canadian Mint in 2009.


title: Swarovski

text: In November 2014, Victoria's Secret revealed a redesign of its Heavenly Luxe perfume bottle with Swarovski crystals.


title: Swarovski

text: Swarovski's Communications and Branding Business has successfully placed Swarovski crystal in a number of films, theatre productions and fashion shows over the last hundred years.


title: Swarovski

text: All the jewelry from "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" starring Marilyn Monroe were Swarovski crystal. Additionally, the tiara worn by Audrey Hepburn in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" was adorned in Swarovski crystal.


title: Swarovski

text: The West End theatre production of "Follies" featured over 600,000 Swarovski crystals, while the West End musical production of "Aladdin" used over 2 million Swarovski crystals.


title: Swarovski

text: The 2018 production of "Dreamgirls" incorporated one million Swarovski crystals into the production, adorning 275 costumes and three crystal curtains.


title: Swarovski

text: The American singer Madonna wore a Swarovski crystal dress in her Rebel Heart Tour while performing her song "Music."Rihanna also wore an entire Swarovski crystal dress in her appearance at the American Grammys.


title: Swarovski

text: Michael Jackson's crystal glove, which sold for $192,000 at auction in 2010, was also made of Swarovski crystal.


title: Swarovski

text: Swarovski has worked with Victoria's Secret and their Fashion Show for 15 years. For the 2018 Fashion Show, Victoria's Secret model Elsa Hosk wore a Fantasy Bra featuring over one million dollars' worth of Swarovski crystal.


title: Swarovski

text: In 2017, Swarovski commissioned a $60,000 Art Deco-styled dress in the style of Marlene Dietrich's famous "nude dress", from Berlin-based fashion tech company ElektroCouture to honour her legacy 25 years after her death. It contains 2,000 crystals in addition to 150 LED lights. ElektroCouture owner Lisa Lang said that the dress was inspired by electrical diagrams and correspondence that took place between the actress and fashion designer Jean Louis in 1958. "She wanted a dress that glows, she wanted to be able to control it herself from the stage and she knew she could have died of an electric stroke had it ever been realized." The dress created by Lang's company was featured in French-German broadcaster Arte's documentary "Das letzte Kleid der Marlene Dietrich" ("The Last Dress of Marlene Dietrich").


title: Swarovski

text: Swarovski actively collaborates with high-profile fashion designers for numerous Fashion Weeks taking place around the world. For London Fashion Week in 2018, Swarovski collaborated with the House of Holland, Mary Katrantzou and Richard Quinn. For New York Fashion Week in 2018, Swarovski collaborated with Jason Wu, Alexander Wang, Brandon Maxwell, Gabriela Hearst and Rosie Assoulin.


title: Swarovski

text: A notable client of Swarovski was Liberace, who acquired a large number of their rhinestones and used them to cover many items he owned, including his piano and his car. Liberace's success and fame were a major driver for Swarovski's brand, growth and success, and the company recognized this by creating an exceptionally large rhinestone dubbed "the Heart of Liberace". This piece, weighing was presented to Liberace in 1985. It is now on display as part of the Liberace exhibition at the Hollywood Car Museum in Las Vegas. The crystal has 134 facets, and measures . At the time, the crystal was valued at $50,000 (equivalent to $125,000 in 2021).


title: Swarovski

text: Since 2004, Swarovski has provided the , star or snowflake that tops the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree in New York City. Smaller versions of this are sold as Annual Edition ornaments.


title: Swarovski

text: In 2018, celebrity chef Nadiya Hussain, TV personality Katie Piper, and CoppaFeel founder Kris Hallenga, were announced as Swarovski's latest ambassadors, and starred in the brand's ongoing #BrillianceforAll campaign.


title: Swarovski

text: In 2019, Swarovski partnered with Dior for its exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum, featuring archival designer pieces emblazoned with Swarovski crystal.


title: Swarovski

text: Swarovski annually hosts the Designers of the Future Award in recognition of young and up-and-coming designers. The previous winners of the Swarovski Designers of the Future Award include influential designers and architects: Ross Lovegrove, Greg Lynn, Troika, Fredrikson Stallard, Erwin Redl, Eyal Burstein, Asif Khan, Guilherme Torres, Jeanne Gang and Mexico City-based global architecture and design practice Fernando Romero Enterprise (FR-EE). The 2018 winners were Frank Kolkman, an experimental Dutch designer focused on robotic technologies; Study O Portable, a research-based Dutch-Japanese practice making objects about the designed environment, and Yosuke Ushigome of TAKRAM, a creative Japanese technologist specializing in emerging technologies.


title: United States sanctions

text: After the failure of the Embargo Act of 1807, the federal government of the United States took little interest in imposing embargoes and economic sanctions against foreign countries until the 20th century. United States trade policy was entirely a matter of economic policy. After World War I, interest revived. President Woodrow Wilson promoted such sanctions as a method for the League of Nations to enforce peace. However, he failed to bring the United States into the League and the US did not join the 1935 League sanctions against Italy.


title: United States sanctions

text: However, in 1940, the United States participated in the ABCD line against Japan, and the Helium Act of 1925 forbade the export of that strategic commodity. Interest in trade as a tool of foreign policy expanded during the Cold War era, and many economic sanctions were applied. The Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986, was only in effect for five years. Later, sanctions were additionally aimed against countries which the U.S. government listed as "State Sponsors of Terrorism".


title: United States sanctions

text: Numerous US unilateral sanctions against various countries around the world have been criticized by different commentators. Since 1998 the United States has imposed economic sanctions on more than 20 countries.


title: United States sanctions

text: These sanctions, according to Daniel T. Griswold, failed to change the behavior of sanctioned countries; but they have barred American companies from economic opportunities, and harmed the poorest people in the countries under sanctions. Secondary sanctions, according to Rawi Abdelal, often separate the United States and Europe because they reflect US interference in the affairs and interests of the European Union (EU). Since Donald Trump became the president of the United States, Abdelal believes, sanctions have been seen not only as an expression of Washington's preferences and whims, but also as a tool for US economic warfare that has angered historical allies such as the EU.


title: United States sanctions

text: As of February 2022, following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the United States has sanctions against:


title: United States sanctions

text: Some countries listed are members of the World Trade Organization, but WTO rules allow trade restrictions for non-economic purposes.


title: United States sanctions

text: Combined, the Treasury Department, the Commerce Department and the State Department list embargoes against 20 countries or territories:


title: United States sanctions

text: Two-thirds of the 104 sanctions that were imposed worldwide from 1945 to 1990 were unilateral US actions. Since 1990, sanctions have been significantly increased and since 1998, the US has imposed economic sanctions on more than 20 countries. According to Joy Gordon, while it is wrong to think of the UN Security Council as an instrument of US hegemony, the US has led many of the Security Council's recent efforts to impose sanctions. Gordon also said the US has disproportionate influence because of its veto power, global economic power, and recent increased influence as Russia's willingness to exercise its veto has diminished due to its dependence on the West.


title: United States sanctions

text: According to Daniel T. Griswold, sanctions have failed to change the political behavior of sanctioned countries but they have barred American companies from economic opportunities and harmed the poorest people in the sanctioned countries. According to Rawi Abdelal, secondary sanctions often separate the US and Europe because they reflect US interference in the affairs and interests of the EU. Abdelal said since Donald Trump's election as President of the US, sanctions have been seen as an expression of Washington's preferences and whims, and a tool for US economic warfare that has angered historical allies such as the EU.


title: United States sanctions

text: The increase in the use of economic leverage as a US foreign policy tool has prompted a debate about its usefulness and effectiveness. According to Rawi Abdelal, sanctions have become the dominant tool of statecraft of the US and other Western countries in the post-Cold War era. Abdelal stated; "sanctions are useful when diplomacy is not sufficient but force is too costly". British diplomat Jeremy Greenstock said sanctions are popular because "there is nothing else [to do] between words and military action if you want to bring pressure upon a government".


title: United States sanctions

text: Hufbauer, Schott, and Elliot said policymakers often have high expectations of the effectiveness of sanctions, especially in the US. They also stated there is at most a weak correlation between economic deprivation and the political inclination to change. According to Daniel T. Griswold, the use of trade as a foreign policy weapon has harmed US interests without greatly enhancing national security. According to him, sanctions have failed to change the behavior of sanctioned countries but have barred American companies from economic opportunities and harmed the poorest people in the countries under sanctions. According to the president's Export Council, since 1993, the US has imposed more than 40 economic sanctions on 36 countries. The sanctions are estimated to have cost US exporters to a year in overseas sales, and have damaged their reputation as reliable suppliers. According to Griswold, trade sanctions have been a foreign policy failure; a study by the Peterson Institute for International Economics said sanctions have achieved their goals in fewer than 20% of cases. As an example, it is said the US Nuclear Proliferation Prevention Act of 1994 could not stop Pakistan and India from testing nuclear weapons.


title: United States sanctions

text: In this context, South Africa is often mentioned as a successful example of sanctions; according to Griswold, sanctions were not the only reason for the collapse of apartheid; the collapse of the Soviet Union was also responsible. Griswold said sanctions against South Africa were different from most 21st-century American sanctions; South African sanctions were multilateral whereas most US sanctions since 1993 have been unilateral; and South Africa was responsive to a limited but still significant number of votes of five million white people, which made the state more vulnerable to external pressures.


title: United States sanctions

text: According to the National Iranian American Council, sanctions or blockades have hurt civilian populations in targeted countries in what amounts to unjust collective punishment, economic sanctions during the Covid-19 pandemic worsened global public health and put at risk countless millions across the world, and sanctions against Cuba, Venezuela and other countries increased refugee flows from these regions and had a negative impact on public opinions of the United States in those countries.


title: United States sanctions

text: According to Abdelal, US sanctions on its own internal economy cost almost nothing but overuse of them can be costly in the long run. Abdelal said the biggest threat is the US's gradual isolation and the continuing decline of US influence in the context of an emerging multi-polar world with differing financial and economic powers. Abdelal also said the US and Europe largely agree on the "substance" of sanctions but disagree on their implementation. The main issue is secondary US sanctions—also known as extraterritorial sanctions—which prohibit any trading in US dollars and prevent trade with a country, individuals and organizations under the US sanctions regime. Primary sanctions restrict US companies, institutions, and citizens from doing business with the country or entities under sanctions. According to Abdelal, secondary sanctions often separate the US and Europe because they reflect US interference in the affairs and interests of the EU. The more secondary sanctions are applied, the more they are seen in the EU as a violation of national and EU sovereignty—as an unacceptable interference in the EU's independent decision making. The secondary sanctions imposed on Iran and Russia are central to these tensions, and have become the primary tool for signaling and implementing secession from US and European political goals.


title: United States sanctions

text: Farrokh Habibzadeh, the editorial consultant for The Lancet, compared the strategy of sanctions to besieging in ancient times, where armies that could not conquer a city that was surrounded by defensive walls would besiege the city to prevent access by residents to necessary supplies. According to Hufbauer, Schott and Elliot (2008), regime change is the most-frequent foreign policy objective of economic sanctions, accounting for just over 39% of cases of their imposition.


title: United States sanctions

text: There have been 29 consecutive nearly unanimous UN resolution demanding the US end its embargo of Cuba. According to Noam Chomsky, the measures against Cuba have been condemned in almost all relevant international forums and have been outlawed by the Judiciary Commission of the Organization of American States, which usually complies. The EU has called on the World Trade Organization to condemn the sanctions. According to Chomsky, Bill Clinton's administration's response was; "Europe is challenging 'three decades of American Cuba policy that goes back to the Kennedy Administration', and is aimed entirely at forcing a change of government in Havana."


title: United States sanctions

text: When the US imposed its the first comprehensive commercial embargo on Cuba in 1961, Cuba did most of its commerce with the US. Griswold said since then, the sanctions have not had any effect on Fidel Castro's government, which used sanctions to justify the failure of policies and to attract international compassion. Griswold said although the sanctions formerly had international backing, nowadays no other country supports them. Forty years after they were imposed, the sanctions have only damaged US firms and the Cuban people while not much change in Castro's government seemed likely. Pope John Paul II stated during his visit to Cuba, embargoes "are always deplorable because they harm the needy".


title: United States sanctions

text: In May 2018, the US government announced its withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and launched a maximum pressure campaign against Iran, which resulted in public protests, and reproach from European political and business elites. Excessive use of US financial sanctions has worried companies and prompted many EU member states and institutions to limit the exposure of their economies to the US-based clearing system that creates extreme vulnerability for all countries other than the US. According to Abdelal, EU leaders, are increasingly recognizing EU security depends on political stability in the Middle East and argue US policies undermine this agenda by using destabilizing tactics in the region—particularly the US's strategy of maximum pressure on Iran. The refugee crisis caused deep divisions in the EU. An unstable Iran, most likely built by a US militant, runs counter to European interests. The Trump administration reintroduced sanctions against Iran with an executive order, going against the wishes of many politicians. The consequences of these divisions could threaten the long-term European trade and security; according to Abdelal, Europeans are not prepared to bear the consequences of US internal strife.


title: United States sanctions

text: According to Noam Chomsky, Bill Clinton said Syria be removed from the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism (U.S. list) if it agreed to the US-Israeli peace terms. When Syria insisted on retaking the land Israel had occupied in 1967, it remained on the list of sponsors of terrorism despite the US's acknowledgment Syria had not been involved in supporting terrorism for many years and has been instrumental in providing intelligence about al-Qaeda and other radical Islamist groups to the US. Chomsky wrote:


title: United States sanctions

text: Chomsky said Congress law, and news and commentary ignore the fact the 1982 United Nations Security Council Resolution 520 was explicitly against Israel rather than Syria, as well as the fact Israel has violated these and other Security Council resolutions on Lebanon for 22 years. There was no call for any sanctions against Israel or for a reduction in unconditional military and economic aid to Israel.


title: United States sanctions

text: The sanctions regime imposed by the US and UK pushed Iraq to a level of survival. UNICEF's "2003 Report on the State of the World's Children" stated Iraq's decline was the most severe in the last decade. According to Chomsky, sanctions against Iraq killed hundreds of thousands of people and Iraq had the weakest economy and the weakest military force in the region. Halliday, von Sponeck, and others had been saying for years the sanctions devastated the people while strengthening Saddam Hussein and his group, as well as increasing the Iraqi people's dependence on Hussein for their survival. Von Sponeck, who resigned in 2000, reported the US and UK "systematically tried to prevent [him and Halliday] from briefing the Security Council ... because they didn't want to hear what we had to say" about the effects of the sanctions. Chomsky wrote; "after Hussein's atrocities against the Kurds, against Iran, against Iraqis—which we now denounce—the United States continued to support Saddam Hussein". The Iraqi Army invaded and occupied Kuwait, which was met with international condemnation and brought immediate sanctions against Iraq. UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher and US president George H. W. Bush deployed forces and formed the largest military alliance since World War II. Most of the coalition's military forces were from the US.


title: United States sanctions

text: According to Chomsky, more than ten years of sanctions "killed more people than Saddam Hussein ever did". According to Chomsky, the argument the sanctions regime was Saddam's fault because of his refusal to comply fully with UN resolutions, his construction of palaces and monuments to himself funded by money diverted from smuggling and other illegal operations, according to the testimony of UN humanitarian coordinators and the World Food Program), means the US had to punish Saddam by crushing his victims and strengthening their torturer. He also said if a criminal hijacks a school bus, we should blow it up and murder the passengers but rescue and reward the hijacker, justifying the actions on grounds that it was his fault.