User blog comment:Wolfishtail/Races and sides in the civil war/@comment-184.61.146.14-20130523174019

One thing Skyrim does really well is give a lot of different viewpoints. Obviously some groups have more or less interest in one side or the other, but there are also dissenters in every group who don't hold the majority opinion. For instance, there are plenty of Nords who don't trust Ulfric or who dislike him because he started the civil war. My favorite NPC, Razelan, is a Redguard who is in very close with the Empire.

The Khajiit take advantage of the civil war to sell to both sides. The Bosmer couldn't care less as they aren't affected one way or the other (and this is just a short blip in their long lives). Argonians and Dunmer want to be treated better but don't have much hope either way. For people of those races, a Skyrim ruled by Ulfric wouldn't be any better than a Skyrim ruled by the Empire. You can see how Ulfric treats them in Windhelm. The Empire isn't a lot better, but they're too busy trying to hold everything together to seriously oppress any one group - plus, as long as Skyrim is an imperial province, the Empire has an interest in keeping the Thalmor out. If they were to withdraw, Skyrim would be easier pickings for the Thalmor. For that reason, Altmer might privately back Ulfric, but publicly they're still aligned with the Empire.