Galactic Republic
The Galactic Republic, commonly known as The Republic, is a fictional state in the Star Wars universe that predates the formation of the Galactic Empire. It is prominently featured in the prequel trilogy of Star Wars films, offering a glimpse into its history and functioning. In the original trilogy, which takes place after the events of the prequels, the Republic is referred to as the Old Republic, suggesting its long-established nature. In the prequel era, which takes place during the last years of the Republic, the term "Old Republic" referred to the Galactic Republic of ancient time, which was reorganized into the modern High Republic, a thousand years before the Battle of Yavin.
The Republic is portrayed as a democratic republic-union of sovereign planets, analogous to the United Nations, that has sustained itself peacefully for over twenty-five thousand years but was tied up in layers of bureaucracy, its government ineffective and prone to corruption. A decentralized system where planets are represented and maintain a degree of independence, the Republic's authority is primarily focused on inter-planetary relations and trade, to foster cooperation and maintain order among their members. It was mainly overseen by the Galactic Senate, the Republic's legislative branch, consisting of elected officials from each system and populated world. These officials elected a head of state for the Office of the Supreme Chancellor, the Republic's executive branch. The Chancellor and Senate were moderated by an impartial Judicial Department, the Republic's judiciary branch.
Pre-Clone Wars era, the Republic did not have a standing military; it was protected by the Jedi Order, who served as peacekeepers throughout the Star Wars galaxy. After the end of the Galactic Empire, the New Republic was founded. It was enforced by the former Rebel Alliance, reorganized into the New Republic Military. The consolidation of the New Republic is depicted in The Mandalorian as it sought to wipe out remnants of the Imperial forces and was eventually destroyed by the First Order, under Supreme Leader Snoke's direction, in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Fictional history (canon)
Fictional timeline (canon)
In the Star Wars chronology, the destruction of the first Death Star during the Battle of Yavin serves as a significant event used to establish the calendar era. The battle is depicted in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, the first film released in the franchise. Following this event, the conventional notation for standard years is "BBY" and "ABY". Alternative notations such as "BSW4" and "ASW4" may be used.Background
In the Star Wars universe, the earliest history of the galaxy before the Republic is not extensively explored. However, it is believed that various species, including humans, evolved in the Core Worlds and eventually became dominant throughout the galaxy. According to the hypothesis, humans are thought to have originated from Coruscant, a central planet in the Star Wars galaxy. From there, they settled in other Core Worlds, such as Alderaan, and eventually expanded their presence to colonize other planets across the galaxy. According to Smith, the origin of hyperdrive technology in the Star Wars galaxy is uncertain. It is speculated that hyperdrive might have been invented by the humans of the Core Worlds, or it could have been introduced to them by alien traders from the Unknown Regions. Regardless of its origin, there is a consensus that hyperspace travel predated the Republic and played a crucial role in enabling the formation of a "galactic civilization." It allowed for interstellar travel and facilitated the establishment of central governments spanning multiple planetary systems, ultimately leading to the rise of the Galactic Republic.Old Republic
According to the large body of films and other fiction that belong to the Star Wars franchise, the Old Republic was formed 25,000 years before the events of Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope when the first "Galactic Constitution" was signed on Coruscant, after hyperdrive connected many worlds in the Core and enabled the establishment of an interstellar central government. Coruscant became the capital planet of the Old Republic, the Galactic Empire, and the New Republic, and the entire surface evolved into one big city, with skyscrapers reaching more than 5,000 levels. The Republic was made up of several hundred thousand worlds, and each planet or system had representation in the Republic Senate, which comprised most of the Republic's Legislative Branch and the government itself. It started merely as an economic and protective alliance, mainly among the Core worlds. It eventually expanded to the Colonies and other outlying worlds and regions, becoming a superpower rather than an alliance, and it became the sole superpower in the galaxy. The Core Worlds, such as Coruscant and Alderaan, were notable for their prosperity; later, they were matched by the Colonies, while the Inner Rim and Expansion Region were slightly less secure and poorer than the Core Worlds or Colonies. The Mid Rim was an unsafe region that saw much of the fighting in the Galactic Civil War on planets such as Naboo and Kashyyyk, as it was far from the Republic's military concentration in the Core. The Outer Rim was the most unsafe place in the galaxy: both the Republic and the Empire were unable to gain sufficient de facto hold to maintain order, leading to lawlessness, widespread violence, and crime syndicates; many key battles of the Clone Wars took place here. A large part of the Outer Rim, including Tatooine was traditionally ruled by the Hutts and therefore called the Hutt Space.As the Republic expanded, it came into contact with the slave empire of Zygerria. Because slavery was disallowed in the Republic, it disliked the Zygerrian Empire, as slavery was central to the Empire's political and economic system; consequently, the Empire refused to become part of the Republic. The Republic and Jedi declared war on the Empire and won. The Empire was reduced to a small, harmless alliance on Zygerria.
Sith Empire and reforms
The Sith return to their original strength and invaded Malachor. The first Sith War began, which led to the demise of the first Republic. The power of the new Sith Empire increased as the Republic decreased. The Republic and Jedi forces failed to keep the Empire's Forces out of Republic Space. Soon, the Sith became a second superpower. Around this time, an ancestor of Pre Vizsla stole the Darksaber from the Jedi Temple. Around 1000 years prior to Star Wars, the Dark Age began, and the Old Republic was brought to the brink of collapse, but with the Liberation of Coruscant, the Sith Empire collapsed first. After the Sith Empire was defeated c. 1032 BBY, the Old Republic reformed and became a democracy known as the Galactic High Republic. It demilitarized at the Ruusan Reformation, shortly after the Seventh Battle of Ruusan.High Republic
The multimedia project Star Wars: The High Republic depicts the galaxy 200 years before The Phantom Menace.The Republic began to diplomatically influence its neighboring worlds rather than conquer them by force. This meant the Republic expanded slowly. The Republic finally took control of the Mid Rim.
Power blocs formed out of the Republic, but the Jedi kept order. The Republic was peaceful but became corrupt, and a Core-Rim distrust formed. After Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum came to power, a standoff between the Trade Federation and the Republic led to the Invasion of Naboo, depicted in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.
While the Republic flourished, the Empire of Zygerria tried to cause a war, known as the Zygerrian War. However, after a few minor battles, the Zygerrians quickly withdrew their army, since it stood no chance in this war.
Separatist Crisis
Several trade organizations represented in the Senate, such as the Trade Federation and Commerce Guild, kept armies of droids to protect their profits and occasionally took advantage of this, such as when the Trade Federation invaded and occupied Naboo. Individual sectors also maintained their security forces, such as the Naboo Security Force or the CorSec from Corellia, and these were sometimes used to combat small threats. However, there was no centralized and official military of the Republic. The Trade Federation and other cartels within the Republic desired that the Republic government lack significant central military power so that it could not enforce any legal regulations on their business.Dissatisfied with several problems in the Republic, such as ineffectual government, heavy taxes, and perceived favoritism of the Core Worlds over the Outer Rim planets, the Confederacy of Independent Systems was formed in 24 BBY: several systems seceded from the Republic and formed a new state, thus triggering the Separatist Crisis. The CIS was ostensibly headed by former Jedi Master Count Dooku, who gained much popularity among critics of the Republic after his scathing Raxus Address outlining the problems of the Republic, leading many systems to side with him and form the Confederacy. The Separatists became a huge threat to the Republic after some of the galaxy's mega-corporations allied with the CIS, as they possessed vast resources and private armies of battle droids. A Military Creation Act was proposed in the Republic Senate, strongly opposed by many of the Republic's pacifist leaders, such as Padmé Amidala, the Queen of Naboo, who feared the possibility of war. But most of the Senate advocated a permanent, official, and central military to oppose the Separatist threat. Supporters of the Act include Orn Free Taa of Ryloth and Ask Aak of Malastare. With the formation of the Confederacy of Independent Systems on Raxus Prime, a galactic wide Cold War between the Confederacy and the Republic had begun.
However, a Clone Army had already been created in secret on the planet Kamino on the edge of the galaxy ten years earlier, commissioned without authorization by Master Sifo-Dyas, a former Jedi perceiving chaos in the galaxy. When it became clear the Confederacy had no intention of negotiating, the Republic quickly accepted the Army made for them, and it was dubbed the Grand Army of the Republic.