Galactic Republic

The Galactic Republic is the galactic government established in 21,400 BTC to unify the galaxy. The Republic, led by a Supreme Chancellor, has a democratic government that has been able to sustain itself for over twenty-three thousand years. It is said that its complete history would "fill a thousand libraries".

Early History

 * For the history of the Galactic Republic prior to the start of the New Sith Wars (1,653 BTC), please refer to Wookieepedia's article on the Galactic Republic.

New Sith Wars
In 1,653 BTC, the Republic once more faced the menace of the Sith, who had formed a Sith Empire that was far larger than any of its three predecessors. In the ensuing decades, the Sith quickly carved out a sprawling dominion, labeled the New Sith Empire, and their relentless attacks wore away at the reeling Republic.

After Ruin's demise, the first 250 years of the New Sith Wars was dominated by the Dark Underlord, who was supported by the Black Knights, a faction of Sith commanded by a Zeltron General. The Black Knights and the Underlord ravaged space stations along the Zona Miki route until the Republic counterattacked. The Underlord's final confrontation with the Jedi and the Republic came at Malrev IV, where Jedi Master Murrtaggh forged a Faustian pact with the traditionally hostile Mandalorians to bring the Underlord down. Though successful, the assassination came at the cost of Murtaggh's own life.

The Jedi were frequently at the forefront of the Republic's war effort, though not always to their own benefit - a disastrous intervention to contain an outbreak of Ubese aggression in the Battle of Uba IV led to accusations of xenocide. Just as in the Old Sith Wars, the Republic assembled a mighty fleet, mainly provided by Kuat Drive Yards.

Government and politics
The Republic began as a mutual protection and economic alliance among a number of planets in the galactic core. The Republic's greatest failing was its lack of formal organization. Much of its operation was based on non-binding constitutional conventions, which were more often ignored and undermined by corrupt and power-hungry politicians than heeded. Coalition governments were common, with special interest defining the legislative agenda.

Within the government, much of the bureaucracy was handled by the General Ministry. Within this body were the Ministries of State, Commerce, Defense, Education, Finance, License and Permits, Public Information, Science, Security and Intelligence, and Science and Education.

Legislative branch
Each member state (system governments) returned a representative (a senator) to a central legislative body (the Senate). Senators were the ambassadors of their home worlds, and member worlds were able to maintain their government and society in accordance with local beliefs, customs, and traditions. There was a wide variety of different local governments along the political spectrum: from monarchies to republics to hive-like communes. In some systems, the senator was elected to that post; in others, the world government appointed the senator.

When the Republic's power and influence expanded, many new areas of the galaxy were incorporated into the Republic.

The Senate was headquartered in an enormous building containing many floating platforms, each of which contained several senators. Each platform in the Senate represented a "sector" of the galaxy, with one senator from each planet in that sector. Some platforms represented individual worlds, others the powerful corporations and guilds such as the Trade Federation. Along with the senators, the leaders of the individual member planets also had the power to vote in the Senate and introduce legislation.

Senators received one vote in all matters&mdash;procedural and substantive. The Chancellor was elected from within the Senate. The assembly was in turn divided into individual committees, each specializing in specific fields of government administration, and which were responsible for creating legislation to be reviewed by the full assembly.

Although legislation passed by the Senate was binding to all member worlds, most of the everyday legislation followed by citizens of the Republic was created at the planetary, sector, or regional level. Therefore, the main functions of the Senate were to mediate disputes between members, provide for the common defense, and regulate inter-system trade.

Executive branch
The members of the Senate would then elect a Supreme Chancellor from amongst their ranks who would serve as the Republic's head of government (and, by default, head of state) and chief diplomat.

It is a prestigious position, and the Chancellor has a grand office in both the Senate Rotunda's Chancellery and in the dome-like Senate Office Building in Galactic City. The Chancellor is properly addressed as "Your Excellency". The symbol of the office of the Chancellor, as well as the Galactic Senate as a whole, is a fanned spear. This sigil is also emblazoned prominently on the Chancellor's podium in the center of the Senate Rotunda's Main Chamber. When in the Main Chamber, the Chancellor usually wore a Veda cloth robe. The Chancellor is elected from among the Senators who make up the Galactic Senate and serves a term of office that lasts for four standard years. A Chancellor can legally serve only two consecutive four-year terms before he or she has to step down due to term limits.

Judicial branch
The Supreme Court is the highest court of law in the Republic, and comprises the judicial branch of the Republic's government. The Supreme Court is headquartered in the Galactic Courts of Justice Building on Coruscant.

The Court consists of twelve justices (each addressed as "Your Honor"); one of them is the Chief Justice who heads both the Court and the judicial branch. Justices of the Supreme Court are appointed by the Supreme Chancellor, and confirmed by the Galactic Senate.

In addition to serving as a "court of last resort" and as a determiner of constitutional legality, the Supreme Court also tries cases involving the highest politicians and most noteworthy people in the Republic. However, some cases (including the trial of senators for treason) are handled by the Senate.

Relationship with the Jedi Order
In protecting Republic citizens and upholding ideals of democracy and internal tranquility, the members of the Jedi Order were the sworn guardians of peace and justice in the Galactic Republic. Answering to the authority of the Senate (though not in all cases), the Jedi took on the role as "traveling representatives" on behalf of the Galactic Senate. Thus they were entrusted by the government with the a variety of responsibilities, ranging from upholding Republic laws to acting as Republic representatives and mediators for individual disputes. They were in a sense, "peacekeepers," both in the context of promoting stability through peaceful methods and simultaneously policing the galaxy.

Although the Jedi Order ostensibly owes its allegiance to the Galactic Republic—and in particular, the Galactic Senate—many Jedi are uncomfortable with the idea of being an instrument for a government body that they see as corrupt. Other factions exist within the Jedi who are loyal to the Senate to a fault, or believe that instead the Jedi should be answering only to the Supreme Chancellor. A tiny but growing faction believes that the relationship should be reversed, with the Jedi—with what supporters believe is their greater wisdom and morality—should instead be leading the Republic, with the political body answering to them. Due to these divisions, and broader questions about the corruption of the Senate, the Jedi did not answer directly to the Senate, and at times would act in direct contradiction to its will, for what the Jedi Order considered to be the greater good of the Republic.

Despite any concerns, the Jedi have aided the Republic in many wars that could have marked the downfall of the Republic as a galactic institution and civilization, and continue to do so in the New Sith Wars. Without the Jedi Order to both embody the nobility of the Republic and keep wayward individuals in line, the Galactic Republic would have collapsed long ago.

Economy
The Galactic Republic's influence on the galactic economy was linked to its regulatory powers, production of Republic dataries, and authorization of relevant bodies.

At the heart of the galactic economy was planetary trade. Interplanetary trade could support a local economy, but, in many cases, the high levels of government spending required for an advanced society could only be funded by interplanetary exports. While some planets maintained their own shipping fleets, most relied on large freight firms or independent freight haulers to carry their goods along major hyperlanes.

In recent years, commercial interests began to form guilds to increase their influence on relevant legislation and achieve greater efficiency.

Thousands of currencies were used across the galaxy. The Galactic Republic's dataries were perhaps the most widespread form of currency. Because of the Republic's exceptional membership, dataries were accepted on all but the most remote planets. From its inception, the credit was backed by the immense wealth of the planet Muunilinst and the InterGalactic Banking Clan.

All working beings within the Galactic Republic were required to pay income taxes, which were collected by the Republic Tax Collection Agency.

Society and culture
The Galactic Republic had a very diverse culture. Member worlds were able to maintain their own culture in accordance with local beliefs, customs, and traditions. There was a wide variety of different cultures within the Republic: from religious communities like the Jedi to hive-like communes.

The Republic had a liberal policy towards arts also. The dominant aesthetic style of Galactic Republic-era was opulence and ornamentation.

Although Humanocentrism was technically outlawed by the Rights of Sentience clause of the Galactic Constitution, it still very much existed throughout the life of the Galactic Republic. Human-led companies such as Czerka enslaved entire nonhuman races, while planets such as Taris reserved the best sections of the world for Humans, while forcing non-humans into ghettos. The majority of slaves in the galaxy were non-humans.

Military

 * Main articles: Republic Army, Republic Navy, Republic Starfighter Corps, and Republic Armed Forces.

The Republic's earliest days were not peaceful ones, since, as the Republic expanded across the galaxy, it encountered many warlike species. The Republic realized the need for an army and navy to keep the peace. The Republic's military forces would serve throughout many conflicts, including the Great Hyperspace War, the various conflicts of the Old Sith Wars, and the New Sith Wars.

Several trade corporations, such as the Trade Federation, the InterGalactic Banking Clan, and the Commerce Guild, kept their own security forces in order to protect their profits, but they often abused this power. Individual sectors also maintained their own security forces, such as Naboo's Royal Naboo Security Forces or CorSec from Corellia, and these were sometimes used to combat small threats. However there was no centralized galactic command for these local forces.

Astrography
The Galactic Republic was composed of a significant portion of the known galaxy, stretching from the Core Worlds to Wild Space, though the government held little power in the outlying regions, and preferred to focus its attentions on the Core Worlds. The exact number of planets in the Republic fluctuated, but as of 2,153 ATC it is a little less than one million planets.

The capital of the Galactic Republic was Coruscant, a planet considered to be the cultural and economical center of the galaxy, despite being located outside of the Deep Core. To signify its importance in galactic affairs, Coruscant was given coordinates 0-0-0 in the standard galactic coordinate system.