Sweet Rowdy No 8

Is there any way to get a culture or tech win without a strong military? in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

One problem I've been having in my last 4 or 5 games is that when attempting a culture or tech win, I still end up creating enough military that I may as well be going for a conquest. What's the point of being a culturally advanced race if you still need to create a super powerful military? My understanding was that there would be ways to win WITHOUT warfare - but there aren't. Sure, I can decide to not wipe out the AI players planet by planet, but I don't have any options at all unless I fir