Napoleon in Space

Okay, so most people find all this historical stuff boring; let's jazz it up with a science fiction theme. Sure, there are plenty of space-based Empire clones, but how about one in which ships and news travel at the speed of light rather than infinitely fast? Information about the progress of the war reaches you only as quickly as light can travel, so you can be completely in the dark about important developments until it's too late. It's a good idea to position yourself close to the action so that you can get reports more quickly, but this places you in some peril; moreover, it moves you further away from other sectors. This gives a natural advantage to smaller, weaker empires; they can mount raids on distant corners of the big empire and pull them off before the big player knows what hit him.