THE GALACTIC SETTING OF ISAAC ASIMOV’S FOUNDATION

Abstract

This article examines the galactic setting of Isaac Asimov’s Foundation as a complex system designed to embody the inevitability of imperial decline. It argues that Asimov’s world-building-most notably the planet-city Trantor, the centre–periphery structure of the Empire, and the temporal framework of psychohistory—functions as an analytical model of civilizational fragility. By linking the Galactic Empire to both ancient Rome and modern global systems, the article shows how Foundation anticipates contemporary concerns about urban overreach, algorithmic governance, and systemic risk. Ultimately, the setting emerges not as a passive backdrop but as an active theoretical instrument that encodes Asimov’s insights into power, history, and the vulnerabilities of complex societies