History Main / GalacticSuperpower

** A later novel discusses the fact that the Confederate fleet can no longer effectively protect the expanding human space both from internal (e.g. piracy, inter-world squabbles, {{Mega Corp}}s) and hypothetical external threats. The fleet is reorganized. The StandardSciFiFleet is relegated to the Core worlds, while a new carrier-based rapid-reaction fleet is built to patrol the Periphery.

* The [[BeePeople Mantis]] in ''ConquestFrontierWars'' are the most powerful race in the known galaxy, story-wise. However, GameplayAndStorySegregation means that all three sides are equal in-game.

* ''Radio/TheSpaceGypsyAdventures'' has the Federal Alliance, though Zenophon is outside it's jurisdiction.

* In ''{{Lexx}}'' the Cluster controls the entire Light Universe, but not the Dark Zone as His Divine Shadow cannot pass through the portals.

* ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' is unique in that it initially took place in the "fringe" rather than anywhere near the superpower. The Solarian League is so vast that most maps don't show the entire thing, but their sheer numbers have meant that no one dared to fight them for centuries, as such the "barbarians" like Manticore tore their fleets to pieces when the League was manipulated into trying to extend their reach that far.

* In the ''Literature/StarCarrier'' series the human government, the Terran Confederation of States, is one of the small fringe factions. The series deals with their efforts to avoid being subsumed or destroyed by the Sh'daar Masters, an empire that controls most of the galaxy through a variety of vassal species. At the end of the second book, Koenig gets his hands on a galactic map showing the various Sh'daar vassal races and gets a real feeling of the sheer scale of Sh'daar control. There are thousands (maybe even millions) of space-faring races that the Sh'daar could call on to crush the tiny Confederation should humans prove to be too much of a nuisance.

* In the DistantFinale of ''Literature/StarTrekFederation'' set many centuries in the future the UFP has unified the entire galaxy, and ships are now fast enough (using something called a "sidewarp" drive) that crossing it is trivial.

** The history of 40K also includes two previous galactic superpowers before the Age of the Imperium. 60 million years or so ago, the Old Ones were by far the dominant race in the galaxy. Their civilisation was eventually destroyed by firstly the war against the C'tan and Necrons, and secondly the rise of Chaos due to the Old One's creation of psychically powered younger races (including the Eldar, Orks, and possibly humans). The Necrons rebelled against the C'tan then went into hibernation to wait until, while having wiped out much of the sentient life in the galaxy Chaos lost much of its influence in the physical world leaving the Eldar to form the second galactic superpower, which lasted until the 30th millenium, shortly before humanity rose to power.

* In the ''Literature/StarCarrier'' series the human government, the Terran Confederation of States, is one of the small fringe factions. The series deals with their efforts to avoid being subsumed or destroyed by the Sh'daar Masters, an empire that controls most of the galaxy through a variety of vassal species.

* The ''Literature/CoDominium'' universe went through three. The first was the titular alliance between the U.S.A. and U.S.S.R., the second was the Empire of Man founded by the former colony world of Sparta after the founders nuked each other into oblivion. The third was a second Spartan Empire that succeeded the first.

* The writer doesn't want to go to the extra work of creating and developing lots and lots of tiny nations and creates a dominant Galactic Superpower to save time. [[TropesAreNotBad And to be honest]] detailing more than one nation is not really necessary unless the story involves politics.

* Creator/PoulAnderson's ''Literature/TechnicHistory'' series had its Terran Empire phase, in the 31st century, though frequently the stories mention the vast difficulties of it and the limits of the empire's ability to actually control.

* The Terran Hegemony and Star League in the backstory of ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'' ruled over most of known space but ever since it broke up the four successor states and the Clans have been pretty much in a stalemate.

** In ''EV Override'' over half the map is controlled by the Crescent, a loose alliance of four alien races kept in check by an OmniscientCouncilOfVagueness that plays them off against each other.

* The Terran Confederacy in ''Franchise/StarCraft'' was thought to be the sole power in the Koprulu sector until contact with the Protoss. After its fall the succeeding Terran Dominion is the largest Terran polity in the sector but has competition from the Kel-Morian Combine and the Umojan Protectorate. The scale of the United Earth Directorate is not known.

Compare SpaceFillingEmpire. May be led by a GalacticConquerer. Contrast with, and may overlap with, an UngovernableGalaxy.

** ''VideoGame/EscapeVelocity Override'' over half the map is controlled by the Crescent, a loose alliance of four alien races kept in check by an OmniscientCouncilOfVagueness that plays them off against each other.

Compare SpaceFillingEmpire, UngovernableGalaxy

!!Examples

[[AC: Anime and Manga]]

* In ''LegendOfGalacticHeroes'' the Galactic Empire rules over the majority of the galaxy, with only two other factions even existing. The neutral Phezzan Dominion, and the Free Planets Alliance, which is in fact an offshot of the Galactic Empire and significantly smaller, although it ''can'' be said to be a Galactic Superpower in its own right. Reinhard von Lohengramm, as emperor of the Galactic Empire, has the unification of the entire galaxy as his ultimate goal. [[spoiler:He more or less succeeds.]]

[[AC: Film]]
* ''Franchise/StarWars'' had first the Old Republic after the defeat of the Sith Empire, then the Galactic Empire, then the New Republic, then the Galactic Alliance coexisted with the Fel Empire for a century before the Sith took over the Empire again and conquered most of the Alliance.
** Predating the Old Republic was the Rakatan Infinite Empire, a race of AbusivePrecursors that enslaved most of the galaxy, then were done in when the Force rejected them.

[[AC: Literature]]
* The generally unnamed Empire in ''{{Dune}}'' that formed after the Butlerian Jihad and lasted up until Leto II manipulated its breaking up (almost 14,000 years).
* The ''CoDominium'' universe went through three. The first was the titular alliance between the U.S.A. and U.S.S.R., the second was the Empire of Man founded by the former colony world of Sparta after the founders nuked each other into oblivion. The third was a second Spartan Empire that succeeded the first.

* In the ''{{Foundation}}'' series there's the Galactic Empire, which is in the process of falling at the beginning of the first Foundation story, and later the Foundation itself, which is designed by Hari Seldon to be the new Galactic Empire after "only" 1,000 years (instead of the 30,000 years he anticipates chaos will reign without the Foundation in place).
* Averted in the human era of LarryNiven's ''Literature/KnownSpace'' universe but two billion years ago the Thrintun (or Slavers) conquered most of the galaxy using their telepathic abilities to enslave other species. Until one of their slave races, the Tnuctipun, rebelled en masse and instead of admitting defeat the Slavers commanded every chordate in the galaxy to commit suicide.

* PoulAnderson's Literature/TechnicHistory series had its Terran Empire phase, in the 31st century, though frequently the stories mention the vast difficulties of it and the limits of the empire's ability to actually control.
* In AndreNorton's ''Literature/IceCrown'', the BackStory includes the wide control of the Psychocrats over many star systems.
* In AndreNorton's ''Literature/TheZeroStone'', Jern contemplates at one point that the Zacathans found evidence of several galaxy-wide civilizations that predated them -- and the Zacathans themselves have millions of years of history recorded.
* In Creator/PoulAnderson and GordonRDickson's ''Literature/{{Hoka}}'' stories, the League. To be sure, with some difficulties in scale.

[[AC: Live Action TV]]

* The Anglo-Sino Alliance has jurisdiction over almost the entirety of the star system in which the ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' franchise takes place (a half dozen stars with attendant planets and moons), though this is only very recent. Prior to the [[TheWarOfEarthlyAggression Unification War]] six years ago only the inner planets were members; the outer ones were independent. How much control they actually have varies from planet to planet.

[[AC: Radio]]
* ''Franchise/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'' has a galactic empire that Zaphod Beeblebrox used to be president of. And which seems to have nothing better to do than demolish planets to build hyperspace express lanes or chase after the ex-president.
** There was also a hugely prosperous empire that collapsed five million years ago, due in large part to everyone's money going to Magrathea's luxury planet industry.

[[AC: Tabletop Games]]
* The Imperium of Man in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer40000}}'' spans the Milky Way galaxy, but there are many worlds within that expanse that are controlled by other factions which the Imperium is constantly at war with. And the Eastern Reach where the Tau reside is still being explored.

[[AC: Video Games]]
* The Terran Confederacy in ''StarCraft'' was thought to be the sole power in the Koprulu sector until contact with the Protoss. After its fall the succeeding Terran Dominion is the largest Terran polity in the sector but has competition from the Kel-Morian Combine and the Umojan Protectorate.
* Subverted in ''Franchise/MassEffect''. Most of the ''known'' Milky Way is controlled by the [[FictionalUnitedNations Citadel Council]], but because of the limitations of mass effect drive and laws against opening mass relays willy-nilly barely 1% of the galaxy is actually explored.
** 50,000 years ago the Prothean Empire dominated. And in previous cycles other empires ruled, the Citadel Council is implied to be an unusual method.

[[AC: Web Original]]
* In ''OrionsArm'' the First Federation attempted this in the 10th century a.t., more or less succeeding in unifying the Solar System and the few interstellar colonies that existed at the time. But as expansion continued the Federation became more or less a "rubber stamp" body and after about 1800 a.t. it was essentially irrelevant. The Second Federation of 3800 to 4450 a.t. was not so much a polity as a universal protocol of interactions between polities, which pretty much ended with the Version War. In the 106th century a.t. Terragen space is divided between several Sephirotic Empires that are starting to fragment.