Haven't been vocal on here in years, but I thought this Vox.com series of articles was worth sharing with the crowd. A quick glance didn't reveal their having been shared already.
The Star Wars Galactic Senate needed a minority party
The problem with the Galactic Republic was the Jedi
Discuss, revel, tear apart, enjoy.
Vox.com's series of articles on the politics of Star Wars
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The Original Nex
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Adam Reynolds
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Re: Vox.com's series of articles on the politics of Star War
I'll start with the first article. For this point, as fitting the article I will stick to films only. He does point out that such a group did organize in deleted scenes of ROTS. It was also portrayed somewhat more in the novelization in which the group clearly had these beliefs previously, but had no idea what to do about them until it was too late.
The problem that he ignores is the fact that they were in a state of war, civil war at that. In the US, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, no one really argued against the US entering the war, regardless of their sentiment before the attack. In the UK, George Orwell made the following criticism: "Since pacifists have more freedom of action in countries where traces of democracy survive, pacifism can act more effectively against democracy than for it. Objectively the pacifist is pro-Nazi."
This type of sentiment would have been epidemic to the Republic at that time. Look at the argument between Anakin and Padme. When she brings up the possibility of a negotiated settlement, he states "You're starting to sound like a Seperatist." We also see this with Anakin's problem with spying on Palpatine. This is while General Grevious and his remorseless droid army are tearing the galaxy apart. Any action against the head of state, however justified, would be seen as treasonous within the Senate and grounds for political disaster.
Palpatine's strategy here was brilliant as it prevented the possibility of any realistic political opposition to him. Wars tend to weaken domestic politics. War leaders are always seen as strong and necessary, even when they started the war that they are leader of(see President George W. Bush).
Another incorrect point he makes is about the funding for the Clone Army. He assumes that the Republic paid for it directly. There is nothing that says that must be the case. I would say it is quite likely that a down payment was made by Tyranus, who we know openly recruited Jango Fett. The majority of the funds were legally provided after the army was legally authorized.
The group that apparently created the army was the Jedi. If anything came out about its mysterious origins, it could be blamed on them. After the Jedi "rebelled" Palpatine could have easily done just that, claiming that he passed legislation that authorized the Clones to follow him directly to avoid this eventuality.
For the final and most important point, how do we know there aren't political parties? In America the Republican/Democrat divide is mostly one of rural vs urban. In the Republic, at the galactic level, we clearly see the same is true there as well. Though in this case it is the core vs the mid rim vs the outer rim. Look at the three candidates given in TPM. They are presumably each from the major political parties within the Republic, representing areas of galactic space(Naboo, Alderaan, and Malastare).
The actual Outer Rim is often outside of the Republic directly and is generally what joins the CIS. So the party that would have had the most reason to oppose Palpatine had already succeeded from the Republic. It is the same reason that during the American Civil War it was rather easy to repeal slavery within the Confederacy, none of those who would have opposed it could still vote in the US Congress.
The problem that he ignores is the fact that they were in a state of war, civil war at that. In the US, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, no one really argued against the US entering the war, regardless of their sentiment before the attack. In the UK, George Orwell made the following criticism: "Since pacifists have more freedom of action in countries where traces of democracy survive, pacifism can act more effectively against democracy than for it. Objectively the pacifist is pro-Nazi."
This type of sentiment would have been epidemic to the Republic at that time. Look at the argument between Anakin and Padme. When she brings up the possibility of a negotiated settlement, he states "You're starting to sound like a Seperatist." We also see this with Anakin's problem with spying on Palpatine. This is while General Grevious and his remorseless droid army are tearing the galaxy apart. Any action against the head of state, however justified, would be seen as treasonous within the Senate and grounds for political disaster.
Palpatine's strategy here was brilliant as it prevented the possibility of any realistic political opposition to him. Wars tend to weaken domestic politics. War leaders are always seen as strong and necessary, even when they started the war that they are leader of(see President George W. Bush).
Another incorrect point he makes is about the funding for the Clone Army. He assumes that the Republic paid for it directly. There is nothing that says that must be the case. I would say it is quite likely that a down payment was made by Tyranus, who we know openly recruited Jango Fett. The majority of the funds were legally provided after the army was legally authorized.
The group that apparently created the army was the Jedi. If anything came out about its mysterious origins, it could be blamed on them. After the Jedi "rebelled" Palpatine could have easily done just that, claiming that he passed legislation that authorized the Clones to follow him directly to avoid this eventuality.
For the final and most important point, how do we know there aren't political parties? In America the Republican/Democrat divide is mostly one of rural vs urban. In the Republic, at the galactic level, we clearly see the same is true there as well. Though in this case it is the core vs the mid rim vs the outer rim. Look at the three candidates given in TPM. They are presumably each from the major political parties within the Republic, representing areas of galactic space(Naboo, Alderaan, and Malastare).
The actual Outer Rim is often outside of the Republic directly and is generally what joins the CIS. So the party that would have had the most reason to oppose Palpatine had already succeeded from the Republic. It is the same reason that during the American Civil War it was rather easy to repeal slavery within the Confederacy, none of those who would have opposed it could still vote in the US Congress.
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Adam Reynolds
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Re: Vox.com's series of articles on the politics of Star War
The second article is arguing from a position of ignorance. The problem is that the Jedi did answer to the Senate. In TPM, they only operated under the direct orders of Chancellor Valorum, only going to Naboo with his authorization. In AOTC, they similarly protected Padme on Palpatine's orders.
They do show a great deal of individual initiative in their operations, but they are clearly still operating at the discretion of the Senate. If the Senate tells them to do something, they do it. The idea that the GAR. The fact that Jedi were loyal to each other was beside the point. They were fundamentally loyal to the ideals of the Republic, those of peace and justice. They were not loyal to the Jedi Council over the Senate. Mace Windu doesn't march into Palpatine's office to arrest him in the name of the Jedi Council, he did so in the name of the Galactic Senate.
The same criticisms could be made of the FBI, they allow agents to have a great deal of individual imitative in their investigations. They have even investigated members of the US Congress without direct authorization(ABSCAM). They still serve at the discretion of the US Congress and President. We aren't worried about an FBI coup because Congress would deal with a President who broke the law. This did not apply to Palpatine as he had too much control of the Senate.
Though there is a valid point about the problem on a monopoly of force, though it had nothing to do with the Jedi. The problem in the Old Republic was that too many competing groups, this obviously led to the CIS. Private companies were able to have an army that rivaled the Federal government. That was a problem, the abilities of the Jedi were not.
They do show a great deal of individual initiative in their operations, but they are clearly still operating at the discretion of the Senate. If the Senate tells them to do something, they do it. The idea that the GAR. The fact that Jedi were loyal to each other was beside the point. They were fundamentally loyal to the ideals of the Republic, those of peace and justice. They were not loyal to the Jedi Council over the Senate. Mace Windu doesn't march into Palpatine's office to arrest him in the name of the Jedi Council, he did so in the name of the Galactic Senate.
The same criticisms could be made of the FBI, they allow agents to have a great deal of individual imitative in their investigations. They have even investigated members of the US Congress without direct authorization(ABSCAM). They still serve at the discretion of the US Congress and President. We aren't worried about an FBI coup because Congress would deal with a President who broke the law. This did not apply to Palpatine as he had too much control of the Senate.
Though there is a valid point about the problem on a monopoly of force, though it had nothing to do with the Jedi. The problem in the Old Republic was that too many competing groups, this obviously led to the CIS. Private companies were able to have an army that rivaled the Federal government. That was a problem, the abilities of the Jedi were not.