Politics
When the Tau first started expanding to other star systems, they thought they were the only technologically advanced race in existence, and that it would be effortless to expand their reach throughout the rest of the galaxy. In 742.M41 (the 742nd year of the 41st millennium) they came into contact with the Imperium of Man, which launched the so-called "Damocles Crusade" to conquer the upstart Tau Empire. The war lasted for three years, between 742.M41 and 745.M41, before ending in stalemate - each side agreed to a truce due to the sudden appearance of the first Tyranid invasion of the galaxy, Hive Fleet Behemoth, which threatened them both. The Imperium's forces were rapidly withdrawn from the aborted Damocles Crusade to fight in the First Tyrannic War, and in such a fast panic that many Imperial Guard regiments were abandoned inside of the Tau Empire's territory, many of whom were absorbed into the ranks of the Tau military as auxiliaries. Each side learned new lessons from the Damocles Crusade: the Imperium of Man was forced to realize that the Tau were a new major race on the galactic scene, capable of standing up to the limited resources the Imperium was able to throw at them, due to most of its armies being spread thin across the galaxy fighting Chaos, Orks, and Tyranids. Meanwhile, the Tau had a rude awakening that the galaxy was not empty and theirs for the taking, but mostly controlled by the Imperium of Man, which even with its attentions divided between multiple alien threats controlled vast military resources. In the 250 years between the Damocles Crusade and the 13th Black Crusade (by the forces of Chaos), the Tau have been slowly but steadily expanding their sphere of influence, retrenching in the face of powerful alien races.
As a civilized technological race which does not inherently embrace warfare, the Tau are one of the few races that the Imperium of Man might be considered to have "diplomatic relations" with on any level. Unlike the Orks or the Tyranids, the Tau do not wish the destruction of humanity, and their reach is very short due to their limited interstellar capabilities. Though the Imperium ultimately wishes to destroy all alien races, it considers the Tau a low priority and has occasionally agreed to suspend hostilities to deal with more pressing threats. Imperial and Tau troops have often fought side by side against the Necrons and Tyranids as with the Eldar, and the Imperium could essentially be said to have been allies with the Tau. Thus after many thousands of years, the Imperium of Man is slowly beginning to rediscover the concept of "international diplomacy", in which the Imperium, the Eldar, and the Tau would each prefer to conquer all of the others, but each also realizes that they do not have the resources for the full undertaking.
Due to the Tau Empire's location in the Milky Way Galaxy's Eastern Fringe, combined with their lack of psykers, they have had relatively little contact with the forces of Chaos, which are concentrated around the Eye of Terror in the galaxy's north-west, or the Maelstrom at the center of the galaxy. The Imperium of Man has for the most part not prioritized military conflict with the Tau, which does occur but at a relatively low level. Contact with the Eldar is sporadic, and relations vary from one craftworld to the next. The biggest threats to the Tau Empire come from the Ork hordes, which control vast swathes of the Eastern Fringe, as well as the incursion of the Tyranid Hive Fleets, which tend to enter the galaxy through the Eastern Fringe (ultimately driving towards Terra). Thus the Tau's two biggest military threats are alien races which possess military doctrines diametrically opposed to those of the Tau. Both the Orks and Tyranids favor devastating close-quarters combat, while eschewing ranged combat (the Orks to a somewhat less degree than the Tyranids).
Read more about this topic: Tau (Warhammer 40,000), In-universe Fictional History
Famous quotes containing the word politics:
“Every two years the American politics industry fills the airwaves with the most virulent, scurrilous, wall-to-wall character assassination of nearly every political practitioner in the country—and then declares itself puzzled that America has lost trust in its politicians.”
—Charles Krauthammer (b. 1950)
“All you can be sure about in a political-minded writer is that if his work should last you will have to skip the politics when you read it. Many of the so-called politically enlisted writers change their politics frequently.... Perhaps it can be respected as a form of the pursuit of happiness.”
—Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961)
“Our family talked a lot at table, and only two subjects were taboo: politics and personal troubles. The first was sternly avoided because Father ran a nonpartisan daily in a small town, with some success, and did not wish to express his own opinions in public, even when in private.”
—M.F.K. Fisher (1908–1992)