Why couldn't the separatists legally leave the Republic?












7















Why was it necessary to use military methods to secede, while IRW, alliances and unions come and go, sometimes, peacefully. Does the Republic not allow a system or planet to leave and declare itself independent?



Or was it simply a pretense to wage war on The Republic?



Canon answers are prefered, but any sourced information will do.










share|improve this question




















  • 1





    Just to clarify: The US constitution has no mechanism for secession from the union. In Texas v. White, the United States Supreme Court ruled unilateral secession unconstitutional. Scotlands referendum about leaving the UK was only possible due to consent from parliament, which is exactly why the Catalan referendum for independence failed - it wasn't sanction by parliament and thus unconstitutional. So there are plenty of examples from the real world that show that unilateral secession / declaration of independence is usually not possible.

    – Polygnome
    10 hours ago






  • 3





    Even if separation from the Galactic Republic was legal, I am sure Chancellor Palpatine would have convinced the Senate to make it illegal.

    – RichS
    6 hours ago






  • 1





    "My lord. Is that...illegal?" "I will make it illegal."

    – Adamant
    6 hours ago


















7















Why was it necessary to use military methods to secede, while IRW, alliances and unions come and go, sometimes, peacefully. Does the Republic not allow a system or planet to leave and declare itself independent?



Or was it simply a pretense to wage war on The Republic?



Canon answers are prefered, but any sourced information will do.










share|improve this question




















  • 1





    Just to clarify: The US constitution has no mechanism for secession from the union. In Texas v. White, the United States Supreme Court ruled unilateral secession unconstitutional. Scotlands referendum about leaving the UK was only possible due to consent from parliament, which is exactly why the Catalan referendum for independence failed - it wasn't sanction by parliament and thus unconstitutional. So there are plenty of examples from the real world that show that unilateral secession / declaration of independence is usually not possible.

    – Polygnome
    10 hours ago






  • 3





    Even if separation from the Galactic Republic was legal, I am sure Chancellor Palpatine would have convinced the Senate to make it illegal.

    – RichS
    6 hours ago






  • 1





    "My lord. Is that...illegal?" "I will make it illegal."

    – Adamant
    6 hours ago
















7












7








7


1






Why was it necessary to use military methods to secede, while IRW, alliances and unions come and go, sometimes, peacefully. Does the Republic not allow a system or planet to leave and declare itself independent?



Or was it simply a pretense to wage war on The Republic?



Canon answers are prefered, but any sourced information will do.










share|improve this question
















Why was it necessary to use military methods to secede, while IRW, alliances and unions come and go, sometimes, peacefully. Does the Republic not allow a system or planet to leave and declare itself independent?



Or was it simply a pretense to wage war on The Republic?



Canon answers are prefered, but any sourced information will do.







star-wars






share|improve this question















share|improve this question













share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited 12 hours ago









Stormblessed

2,080629




2,080629










asked 15 hours ago









TimSparrowTimSparrow

8,94242870




8,94242870








  • 1





    Just to clarify: The US constitution has no mechanism for secession from the union. In Texas v. White, the United States Supreme Court ruled unilateral secession unconstitutional. Scotlands referendum about leaving the UK was only possible due to consent from parliament, which is exactly why the Catalan referendum for independence failed - it wasn't sanction by parliament and thus unconstitutional. So there are plenty of examples from the real world that show that unilateral secession / declaration of independence is usually not possible.

    – Polygnome
    10 hours ago






  • 3





    Even if separation from the Galactic Republic was legal, I am sure Chancellor Palpatine would have convinced the Senate to make it illegal.

    – RichS
    6 hours ago






  • 1





    "My lord. Is that...illegal?" "I will make it illegal."

    – Adamant
    6 hours ago
















  • 1





    Just to clarify: The US constitution has no mechanism for secession from the union. In Texas v. White, the United States Supreme Court ruled unilateral secession unconstitutional. Scotlands referendum about leaving the UK was only possible due to consent from parliament, which is exactly why the Catalan referendum for independence failed - it wasn't sanction by parliament and thus unconstitutional. So there are plenty of examples from the real world that show that unilateral secession / declaration of independence is usually not possible.

    – Polygnome
    10 hours ago






  • 3





    Even if separation from the Galactic Republic was legal, I am sure Chancellor Palpatine would have convinced the Senate to make it illegal.

    – RichS
    6 hours ago






  • 1





    "My lord. Is that...illegal?" "I will make it illegal."

    – Adamant
    6 hours ago










1




1





Just to clarify: The US constitution has no mechanism for secession from the union. In Texas v. White, the United States Supreme Court ruled unilateral secession unconstitutional. Scotlands referendum about leaving the UK was only possible due to consent from parliament, which is exactly why the Catalan referendum for independence failed - it wasn't sanction by parliament and thus unconstitutional. So there are plenty of examples from the real world that show that unilateral secession / declaration of independence is usually not possible.

– Polygnome
10 hours ago





Just to clarify: The US constitution has no mechanism for secession from the union. In Texas v. White, the United States Supreme Court ruled unilateral secession unconstitutional. Scotlands referendum about leaving the UK was only possible due to consent from parliament, which is exactly why the Catalan referendum for independence failed - it wasn't sanction by parliament and thus unconstitutional. So there are plenty of examples from the real world that show that unilateral secession / declaration of independence is usually not possible.

– Polygnome
10 hours ago




3




3





Even if separation from the Galactic Republic was legal, I am sure Chancellor Palpatine would have convinced the Senate to make it illegal.

– RichS
6 hours ago





Even if separation from the Galactic Republic was legal, I am sure Chancellor Palpatine would have convinced the Senate to make it illegal.

– RichS
6 hours ago




1




1





"My lord. Is that...illegal?" "I will make it illegal."

– Adamant
6 hours ago







"My lord. Is that...illegal?" "I will make it illegal."

– Adamant
6 hours ago












3 Answers
3






active

oldest

votes


















9














Alliances may come and go in the real world, but secession (that is, establishing autonomy separate from the recognised government) is usually illegal. The most famous secession resulting in the American Civil War, but there have been many other attempts - some successful, and some not so - almost all have involved fighting to some degree.



The Republic is not an alliance of planets - it is a federated government. Planets and systems have some level of self-governance (like states within the USA or Australia, or cantons in Switzerland), but abide by the Law of the Republic.



Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of direct evidence about the specifics of the Republic's constitution. But the Senate is described as the "government", which implies the Republic to be a single state rather than an alliance.



The deterioration and civil war were also fomented by the Sith, which muddied things too. Considering the first shots of the Clone Wars came from the Republic against the Separatists on Geonosis (albeit to rescue a couple of foolish Jedi and a Senator), an argument could also be made that the Separatists were defending themselves.






share|improve this answer


























  • The breakup of the Soviet Union?

    – Ben
    13 hours ago






  • 3





    @Ben that one's a wee bit complicated. Wasn't so much a secession as a regime change. The various SSRs that formed the Soviet Union were also technically autonomous states in alliance. You could also argue that the subsequent combat in Chechnya, Georgia, and Ukraine points to the fact that secession is usually not bloodless (the collapse of Yugoslavia is another modem example).

    – HorusKol
    13 hours ago






  • 4





    The answer is ok, but lacking any evidence/quote explaining it in-universe.

    – TimSparrow
    12 hours ago






  • 1





    @Seamusthedog Brexit is about breaking a set of alliances -- that's all the EU really is.

    – yshavit
    10 hours ago






  • 1





    Re: "the Senate is described as the 'government', which implies the Republic to be a single nation-state": You mean "state" rather than "nation-state".

    – ruakh
    1 hour ago



















1














The Republic was not an alliance. It was not a trade union. Membership in the Republic was not voluntary, not optional. While its self-characterization as the "Galactic" Republic was overly optimistic, with certain functionally independent areas on its fringes and other parts of the galaxy remaining unknown because they had never discovered a safe hyperspace route into them, the Republic claimed the entire known galaxy because only by being the only interstellar nation could it avoid interstellar warfare and the need to maintain a large military to be ready for it.



If they had just let the Confederation go without a fight...what would have happened next? Would the two megastates just have lived alongside each other in relative amity with any issues resolved by diplomacy? Of course they bloody well wouldn't have. You only had to look at the Trade Federation's attempt to secure a trade monopoly on Naboo by force to know that wasn't how it was going to go. There would be wars between the Republic and the Confederation. And in between the wars the Republic would have to maintain a large standing military all the time and tax its members accordingly.



Now of course there's a flaw in this reasoning. Notably that there was a very real possibility that some day the Republic would face an invasion from the Unknown Regions or another galaxy and be totally unprepared for it. However balanced against that theoretical risk was the probability that the Republic would get enough forewarning of this new element in time to respond and the actuality that the Republic had gone for a full thousand years without any significant interstellar warfare. So win this civil war and they could in theory hope for another thousand years of peace and almost no Republic taxes.






share|improve this answer

































    1














    In Earth politics it may be possible to leave an alliance unilaterally. Most treaties of alliance have clauses describing the conditions for leaving the alliance, usually giving each party the power to leave the alliance unilaterally within a certain period after giving notice of their intention.



    But the Galactic Republic in Star Wars is much more similar to an independent state on modern Earth than to an alliance like, for example, Nato.



    The Star Wars Galactic Republic seems to resemble a federal state or federation, in which power is shared or divided between the central federal government and the governments of the various parts of the state, but which is legally a single independent and sovereign government in international affairs.




    A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governing status of the component states, as well as the division of power between them and the central government, is typically constitutionally entrenched and may not be altered by a unilateral decision of either party, the states or the federal political body. Alternatively, federation is a form of government in which sovereign power is formally divided between a central authority and a number of constituent regions so that each region retains some degree of control over its internal affairs. It is often argued that federal states where the central government has the constitutional authority to suspend a constituent state's government by invoking gross mismanagement or civil unrest, or to adopt national legislation that overrides or infringe on the constituent states' powers by invoking the central government's constitutional authority to ensure "peace and good government" or to implement obligations contracted under an international treaty, are not truly federal states.




    At the present time there are 27 federations or federal states listed out of approximately 195 independent states in the world. Most of the largest and/or most populous nations are federations.



    Most sovereign states are unitary states with a single government for the whole state.




    A unitary state is sometimes one with only a single, centralised, national tier of government. However, unitary states often also include one or more self-governing regions. The difference between a federation and this kind of unitary state is that in a unitary state the autonomous status of self-governing regions exists by the sufferance of the central government, and may be unilaterally revoked.




    Another type of state is a confederation.




    A confederation, in modern political terms, is usually limited to a permanent union of sovereign states for common action in relation to other states. The closest entity in the world to a confederation at this time is the European Union. While the word "confederation" was officially used when the present Canadian federal system was established in 1868, the term refers only to the process and not the resulting state since Canadian provinces are not sovereign and do not claim to be. In the case of Switzerland, while the country is still known as the Swiss Confederation (Confoederatio Helvetica, Confédération suisse) this is also now a misnomer since the Swiss cantons lost their sovereign status in 1848.




    If the Galactic Republic in Star Wars was a confederation of independent and sovereign states for common action with regard to other sovereign states then each of the planetary, star system, or interstellar governments which joined the Galactic Republic would have the right to unilaterally withdraw from the Galactic Republic and there would be an official procedure to do so. Therefore it would be unlikely for separatists to risk civil war by illegally seceding instead of by seceding by the legal method.



    The only confederation existing at the present is the European Union, and it is legally possible for a member nation to unilaterally withdraw from the European Union, as the United Kingdom is doing now via "Brexit".



    Therefore, I deduce that the government of the Galactic Republic has no legal method for planetary, star system, or interstellar, governments to secede from it. Therefore, the government of the Galactic Republic should resemble either a federation or a unitary state (perhaps one with a lot of autonomy for member governments) instead of a confederation.



    Note that the Galactic government is not called the Galactic Union, the Galactic League, the Galactic Confederation, or the Galactic Federation, but the Galactic Republic. Thus there is nothing in the name of the state to indicate whether is is a unitary state, a federation, or confederation.






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      3 Answers
      3






      active

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      3 Answers
      3






      active

      oldest

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      active

      oldest

      votes






      active

      oldest

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      9














      Alliances may come and go in the real world, but secession (that is, establishing autonomy separate from the recognised government) is usually illegal. The most famous secession resulting in the American Civil War, but there have been many other attempts - some successful, and some not so - almost all have involved fighting to some degree.



      The Republic is not an alliance of planets - it is a federated government. Planets and systems have some level of self-governance (like states within the USA or Australia, or cantons in Switzerland), but abide by the Law of the Republic.



      Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of direct evidence about the specifics of the Republic's constitution. But the Senate is described as the "government", which implies the Republic to be a single state rather than an alliance.



      The deterioration and civil war were also fomented by the Sith, which muddied things too. Considering the first shots of the Clone Wars came from the Republic against the Separatists on Geonosis (albeit to rescue a couple of foolish Jedi and a Senator), an argument could also be made that the Separatists were defending themselves.






      share|improve this answer


























      • The breakup of the Soviet Union?

        – Ben
        13 hours ago






      • 3





        @Ben that one's a wee bit complicated. Wasn't so much a secession as a regime change. The various SSRs that formed the Soviet Union were also technically autonomous states in alliance. You could also argue that the subsequent combat in Chechnya, Georgia, and Ukraine points to the fact that secession is usually not bloodless (the collapse of Yugoslavia is another modem example).

        – HorusKol
        13 hours ago






      • 4





        The answer is ok, but lacking any evidence/quote explaining it in-universe.

        – TimSparrow
        12 hours ago






      • 1





        @Seamusthedog Brexit is about breaking a set of alliances -- that's all the EU really is.

        – yshavit
        10 hours ago






      • 1





        Re: "the Senate is described as the 'government', which implies the Republic to be a single nation-state": You mean "state" rather than "nation-state".

        – ruakh
        1 hour ago
















      9














      Alliances may come and go in the real world, but secession (that is, establishing autonomy separate from the recognised government) is usually illegal. The most famous secession resulting in the American Civil War, but there have been many other attempts - some successful, and some not so - almost all have involved fighting to some degree.



      The Republic is not an alliance of planets - it is a federated government. Planets and systems have some level of self-governance (like states within the USA or Australia, or cantons in Switzerland), but abide by the Law of the Republic.



      Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of direct evidence about the specifics of the Republic's constitution. But the Senate is described as the "government", which implies the Republic to be a single state rather than an alliance.



      The deterioration and civil war were also fomented by the Sith, which muddied things too. Considering the first shots of the Clone Wars came from the Republic against the Separatists on Geonosis (albeit to rescue a couple of foolish Jedi and a Senator), an argument could also be made that the Separatists were defending themselves.






      share|improve this answer


























      • The breakup of the Soviet Union?

        – Ben
        13 hours ago






      • 3





        @Ben that one's a wee bit complicated. Wasn't so much a secession as a regime change. The various SSRs that formed the Soviet Union were also technically autonomous states in alliance. You could also argue that the subsequent combat in Chechnya, Georgia, and Ukraine points to the fact that secession is usually not bloodless (the collapse of Yugoslavia is another modem example).

        – HorusKol
        13 hours ago






      • 4





        The answer is ok, but lacking any evidence/quote explaining it in-universe.

        – TimSparrow
        12 hours ago






      • 1





        @Seamusthedog Brexit is about breaking a set of alliances -- that's all the EU really is.

        – yshavit
        10 hours ago






      • 1





        Re: "the Senate is described as the 'government', which implies the Republic to be a single nation-state": You mean "state" rather than "nation-state".

        – ruakh
        1 hour ago














      9












      9








      9







      Alliances may come and go in the real world, but secession (that is, establishing autonomy separate from the recognised government) is usually illegal. The most famous secession resulting in the American Civil War, but there have been many other attempts - some successful, and some not so - almost all have involved fighting to some degree.



      The Republic is not an alliance of planets - it is a federated government. Planets and systems have some level of self-governance (like states within the USA or Australia, or cantons in Switzerland), but abide by the Law of the Republic.



      Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of direct evidence about the specifics of the Republic's constitution. But the Senate is described as the "government", which implies the Republic to be a single state rather than an alliance.



      The deterioration and civil war were also fomented by the Sith, which muddied things too. Considering the first shots of the Clone Wars came from the Republic against the Separatists on Geonosis (albeit to rescue a couple of foolish Jedi and a Senator), an argument could also be made that the Separatists were defending themselves.






      share|improve this answer















      Alliances may come and go in the real world, but secession (that is, establishing autonomy separate from the recognised government) is usually illegal. The most famous secession resulting in the American Civil War, but there have been many other attempts - some successful, and some not so - almost all have involved fighting to some degree.



      The Republic is not an alliance of planets - it is a federated government. Planets and systems have some level of self-governance (like states within the USA or Australia, or cantons in Switzerland), but abide by the Law of the Republic.



      Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of direct evidence about the specifics of the Republic's constitution. But the Senate is described as the "government", which implies the Republic to be a single state rather than an alliance.



      The deterioration and civil war were also fomented by the Sith, which muddied things too. Considering the first shots of the Clone Wars came from the Republic against the Separatists on Geonosis (albeit to rescue a couple of foolish Jedi and a Senator), an argument could also be made that the Separatists were defending themselves.







      share|improve this answer














      share|improve this answer



      share|improve this answer








      edited 57 mins ago

























      answered 15 hours ago









      HorusKolHorusKol

      32.8k4109163




      32.8k4109163













      • The breakup of the Soviet Union?

        – Ben
        13 hours ago






      • 3





        @Ben that one's a wee bit complicated. Wasn't so much a secession as a regime change. The various SSRs that formed the Soviet Union were also technically autonomous states in alliance. You could also argue that the subsequent combat in Chechnya, Georgia, and Ukraine points to the fact that secession is usually not bloodless (the collapse of Yugoslavia is another modem example).

        – HorusKol
        13 hours ago






      • 4





        The answer is ok, but lacking any evidence/quote explaining it in-universe.

        – TimSparrow
        12 hours ago






      • 1





        @Seamusthedog Brexit is about breaking a set of alliances -- that's all the EU really is.

        – yshavit
        10 hours ago






      • 1





        Re: "the Senate is described as the 'government', which implies the Republic to be a single nation-state": You mean "state" rather than "nation-state".

        – ruakh
        1 hour ago



















      • The breakup of the Soviet Union?

        – Ben
        13 hours ago






      • 3





        @Ben that one's a wee bit complicated. Wasn't so much a secession as a regime change. The various SSRs that formed the Soviet Union were also technically autonomous states in alliance. You could also argue that the subsequent combat in Chechnya, Georgia, and Ukraine points to the fact that secession is usually not bloodless (the collapse of Yugoslavia is another modem example).

        – HorusKol
        13 hours ago






      • 4





        The answer is ok, but lacking any evidence/quote explaining it in-universe.

        – TimSparrow
        12 hours ago






      • 1





        @Seamusthedog Brexit is about breaking a set of alliances -- that's all the EU really is.

        – yshavit
        10 hours ago






      • 1





        Re: "the Senate is described as the 'government', which implies the Republic to be a single nation-state": You mean "state" rather than "nation-state".

        – ruakh
        1 hour ago

















      The breakup of the Soviet Union?

      – Ben
      13 hours ago





      The breakup of the Soviet Union?

      – Ben
      13 hours ago




      3




      3





      @Ben that one's a wee bit complicated. Wasn't so much a secession as a regime change. The various SSRs that formed the Soviet Union were also technically autonomous states in alliance. You could also argue that the subsequent combat in Chechnya, Georgia, and Ukraine points to the fact that secession is usually not bloodless (the collapse of Yugoslavia is another modem example).

      – HorusKol
      13 hours ago





      @Ben that one's a wee bit complicated. Wasn't so much a secession as a regime change. The various SSRs that formed the Soviet Union were also technically autonomous states in alliance. You could also argue that the subsequent combat in Chechnya, Georgia, and Ukraine points to the fact that secession is usually not bloodless (the collapse of Yugoslavia is another modem example).

      – HorusKol
      13 hours ago




      4




      4





      The answer is ok, but lacking any evidence/quote explaining it in-universe.

      – TimSparrow
      12 hours ago





      The answer is ok, but lacking any evidence/quote explaining it in-universe.

      – TimSparrow
      12 hours ago




      1




      1





      @Seamusthedog Brexit is about breaking a set of alliances -- that's all the EU really is.

      – yshavit
      10 hours ago





      @Seamusthedog Brexit is about breaking a set of alliances -- that's all the EU really is.

      – yshavit
      10 hours ago




      1




      1





      Re: "the Senate is described as the 'government', which implies the Republic to be a single nation-state": You mean "state" rather than "nation-state".

      – ruakh
      1 hour ago





      Re: "the Senate is described as the 'government', which implies the Republic to be a single nation-state": You mean "state" rather than "nation-state".

      – ruakh
      1 hour ago













      1














      The Republic was not an alliance. It was not a trade union. Membership in the Republic was not voluntary, not optional. While its self-characterization as the "Galactic" Republic was overly optimistic, with certain functionally independent areas on its fringes and other parts of the galaxy remaining unknown because they had never discovered a safe hyperspace route into them, the Republic claimed the entire known galaxy because only by being the only interstellar nation could it avoid interstellar warfare and the need to maintain a large military to be ready for it.



      If they had just let the Confederation go without a fight...what would have happened next? Would the two megastates just have lived alongside each other in relative amity with any issues resolved by diplomacy? Of course they bloody well wouldn't have. You only had to look at the Trade Federation's attempt to secure a trade monopoly on Naboo by force to know that wasn't how it was going to go. There would be wars between the Republic and the Confederation. And in between the wars the Republic would have to maintain a large standing military all the time and tax its members accordingly.



      Now of course there's a flaw in this reasoning. Notably that there was a very real possibility that some day the Republic would face an invasion from the Unknown Regions or another galaxy and be totally unprepared for it. However balanced against that theoretical risk was the probability that the Republic would get enough forewarning of this new element in time to respond and the actuality that the Republic had gone for a full thousand years without any significant interstellar warfare. So win this civil war and they could in theory hope for another thousand years of peace and almost no Republic taxes.






      share|improve this answer






























        1














        The Republic was not an alliance. It was not a trade union. Membership in the Republic was not voluntary, not optional. While its self-characterization as the "Galactic" Republic was overly optimistic, with certain functionally independent areas on its fringes and other parts of the galaxy remaining unknown because they had never discovered a safe hyperspace route into them, the Republic claimed the entire known galaxy because only by being the only interstellar nation could it avoid interstellar warfare and the need to maintain a large military to be ready for it.



        If they had just let the Confederation go without a fight...what would have happened next? Would the two megastates just have lived alongside each other in relative amity with any issues resolved by diplomacy? Of course they bloody well wouldn't have. You only had to look at the Trade Federation's attempt to secure a trade monopoly on Naboo by force to know that wasn't how it was going to go. There would be wars between the Republic and the Confederation. And in between the wars the Republic would have to maintain a large standing military all the time and tax its members accordingly.



        Now of course there's a flaw in this reasoning. Notably that there was a very real possibility that some day the Republic would face an invasion from the Unknown Regions or another galaxy and be totally unprepared for it. However balanced against that theoretical risk was the probability that the Republic would get enough forewarning of this new element in time to respond and the actuality that the Republic had gone for a full thousand years without any significant interstellar warfare. So win this civil war and they could in theory hope for another thousand years of peace and almost no Republic taxes.






        share|improve this answer




























          1












          1








          1







          The Republic was not an alliance. It was not a trade union. Membership in the Republic was not voluntary, not optional. While its self-characterization as the "Galactic" Republic was overly optimistic, with certain functionally independent areas on its fringes and other parts of the galaxy remaining unknown because they had never discovered a safe hyperspace route into them, the Republic claimed the entire known galaxy because only by being the only interstellar nation could it avoid interstellar warfare and the need to maintain a large military to be ready for it.



          If they had just let the Confederation go without a fight...what would have happened next? Would the two megastates just have lived alongside each other in relative amity with any issues resolved by diplomacy? Of course they bloody well wouldn't have. You only had to look at the Trade Federation's attempt to secure a trade monopoly on Naboo by force to know that wasn't how it was going to go. There would be wars between the Republic and the Confederation. And in between the wars the Republic would have to maintain a large standing military all the time and tax its members accordingly.



          Now of course there's a flaw in this reasoning. Notably that there was a very real possibility that some day the Republic would face an invasion from the Unknown Regions or another galaxy and be totally unprepared for it. However balanced against that theoretical risk was the probability that the Republic would get enough forewarning of this new element in time to respond and the actuality that the Republic had gone for a full thousand years without any significant interstellar warfare. So win this civil war and they could in theory hope for another thousand years of peace and almost no Republic taxes.






          share|improve this answer















          The Republic was not an alliance. It was not a trade union. Membership in the Republic was not voluntary, not optional. While its self-characterization as the "Galactic" Republic was overly optimistic, with certain functionally independent areas on its fringes and other parts of the galaxy remaining unknown because they had never discovered a safe hyperspace route into them, the Republic claimed the entire known galaxy because only by being the only interstellar nation could it avoid interstellar warfare and the need to maintain a large military to be ready for it.



          If they had just let the Confederation go without a fight...what would have happened next? Would the two megastates just have lived alongside each other in relative amity with any issues resolved by diplomacy? Of course they bloody well wouldn't have. You only had to look at the Trade Federation's attempt to secure a trade monopoly on Naboo by force to know that wasn't how it was going to go. There would be wars between the Republic and the Confederation. And in between the wars the Republic would have to maintain a large standing military all the time and tax its members accordingly.



          Now of course there's a flaw in this reasoning. Notably that there was a very real possibility that some day the Republic would face an invasion from the Unknown Regions or another galaxy and be totally unprepared for it. However balanced against that theoretical risk was the probability that the Republic would get enough forewarning of this new element in time to respond and the actuality that the Republic had gone for a full thousand years without any significant interstellar warfare. So win this civil war and they could in theory hope for another thousand years of peace and almost no Republic taxes.







          share|improve this answer














          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer








          edited 8 hours ago









          Stormblessed

          2,080629




          2,080629










          answered 8 hours ago









          David JohnstonDavid Johnston

          2,676922




          2,676922























              1














              In Earth politics it may be possible to leave an alliance unilaterally. Most treaties of alliance have clauses describing the conditions for leaving the alliance, usually giving each party the power to leave the alliance unilaterally within a certain period after giving notice of their intention.



              But the Galactic Republic in Star Wars is much more similar to an independent state on modern Earth than to an alliance like, for example, Nato.



              The Star Wars Galactic Republic seems to resemble a federal state or federation, in which power is shared or divided between the central federal government and the governments of the various parts of the state, but which is legally a single independent and sovereign government in international affairs.




              A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governing status of the component states, as well as the division of power between them and the central government, is typically constitutionally entrenched and may not be altered by a unilateral decision of either party, the states or the federal political body. Alternatively, federation is a form of government in which sovereign power is formally divided between a central authority and a number of constituent regions so that each region retains some degree of control over its internal affairs. It is often argued that federal states where the central government has the constitutional authority to suspend a constituent state's government by invoking gross mismanagement or civil unrest, or to adopt national legislation that overrides or infringe on the constituent states' powers by invoking the central government's constitutional authority to ensure "peace and good government" or to implement obligations contracted under an international treaty, are not truly federal states.




              At the present time there are 27 federations or federal states listed out of approximately 195 independent states in the world. Most of the largest and/or most populous nations are federations.



              Most sovereign states are unitary states with a single government for the whole state.




              A unitary state is sometimes one with only a single, centralised, national tier of government. However, unitary states often also include one or more self-governing regions. The difference between a federation and this kind of unitary state is that in a unitary state the autonomous status of self-governing regions exists by the sufferance of the central government, and may be unilaterally revoked.




              Another type of state is a confederation.




              A confederation, in modern political terms, is usually limited to a permanent union of sovereign states for common action in relation to other states. The closest entity in the world to a confederation at this time is the European Union. While the word "confederation" was officially used when the present Canadian federal system was established in 1868, the term refers only to the process and not the resulting state since Canadian provinces are not sovereign and do not claim to be. In the case of Switzerland, while the country is still known as the Swiss Confederation (Confoederatio Helvetica, Confédération suisse) this is also now a misnomer since the Swiss cantons lost their sovereign status in 1848.




              If the Galactic Republic in Star Wars was a confederation of independent and sovereign states for common action with regard to other sovereign states then each of the planetary, star system, or interstellar governments which joined the Galactic Republic would have the right to unilaterally withdraw from the Galactic Republic and there would be an official procedure to do so. Therefore it would be unlikely for separatists to risk civil war by illegally seceding instead of by seceding by the legal method.



              The only confederation existing at the present is the European Union, and it is legally possible for a member nation to unilaterally withdraw from the European Union, as the United Kingdom is doing now via "Brexit".



              Therefore, I deduce that the government of the Galactic Republic has no legal method for planetary, star system, or interstellar, governments to secede from it. Therefore, the government of the Galactic Republic should resemble either a federation or a unitary state (perhaps one with a lot of autonomy for member governments) instead of a confederation.



              Note that the Galactic government is not called the Galactic Union, the Galactic League, the Galactic Confederation, or the Galactic Federation, but the Galactic Republic. Thus there is nothing in the name of the state to indicate whether is is a unitary state, a federation, or confederation.






              share|improve this answer






























                1














                In Earth politics it may be possible to leave an alliance unilaterally. Most treaties of alliance have clauses describing the conditions for leaving the alliance, usually giving each party the power to leave the alliance unilaterally within a certain period after giving notice of their intention.



                But the Galactic Republic in Star Wars is much more similar to an independent state on modern Earth than to an alliance like, for example, Nato.



                The Star Wars Galactic Republic seems to resemble a federal state or federation, in which power is shared or divided between the central federal government and the governments of the various parts of the state, but which is legally a single independent and sovereign government in international affairs.




                A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governing status of the component states, as well as the division of power between them and the central government, is typically constitutionally entrenched and may not be altered by a unilateral decision of either party, the states or the federal political body. Alternatively, federation is a form of government in which sovereign power is formally divided between a central authority and a number of constituent regions so that each region retains some degree of control over its internal affairs. It is often argued that federal states where the central government has the constitutional authority to suspend a constituent state's government by invoking gross mismanagement or civil unrest, or to adopt national legislation that overrides or infringe on the constituent states' powers by invoking the central government's constitutional authority to ensure "peace and good government" or to implement obligations contracted under an international treaty, are not truly federal states.




                At the present time there are 27 federations or federal states listed out of approximately 195 independent states in the world. Most of the largest and/or most populous nations are federations.



                Most sovereign states are unitary states with a single government for the whole state.




                A unitary state is sometimes one with only a single, centralised, national tier of government. However, unitary states often also include one or more self-governing regions. The difference between a federation and this kind of unitary state is that in a unitary state the autonomous status of self-governing regions exists by the sufferance of the central government, and may be unilaterally revoked.




                Another type of state is a confederation.




                A confederation, in modern political terms, is usually limited to a permanent union of sovereign states for common action in relation to other states. The closest entity in the world to a confederation at this time is the European Union. While the word "confederation" was officially used when the present Canadian federal system was established in 1868, the term refers only to the process and not the resulting state since Canadian provinces are not sovereign and do not claim to be. In the case of Switzerland, while the country is still known as the Swiss Confederation (Confoederatio Helvetica, Confédération suisse) this is also now a misnomer since the Swiss cantons lost their sovereign status in 1848.




                If the Galactic Republic in Star Wars was a confederation of independent and sovereign states for common action with regard to other sovereign states then each of the planetary, star system, or interstellar governments which joined the Galactic Republic would have the right to unilaterally withdraw from the Galactic Republic and there would be an official procedure to do so. Therefore it would be unlikely for separatists to risk civil war by illegally seceding instead of by seceding by the legal method.



                The only confederation existing at the present is the European Union, and it is legally possible for a member nation to unilaterally withdraw from the European Union, as the United Kingdom is doing now via "Brexit".



                Therefore, I deduce that the government of the Galactic Republic has no legal method for planetary, star system, or interstellar, governments to secede from it. Therefore, the government of the Galactic Republic should resemble either a federation or a unitary state (perhaps one with a lot of autonomy for member governments) instead of a confederation.



                Note that the Galactic government is not called the Galactic Union, the Galactic League, the Galactic Confederation, or the Galactic Federation, but the Galactic Republic. Thus there is nothing in the name of the state to indicate whether is is a unitary state, a federation, or confederation.






                share|improve this answer




























                  1












                  1








                  1







                  In Earth politics it may be possible to leave an alliance unilaterally. Most treaties of alliance have clauses describing the conditions for leaving the alliance, usually giving each party the power to leave the alliance unilaterally within a certain period after giving notice of their intention.



                  But the Galactic Republic in Star Wars is much more similar to an independent state on modern Earth than to an alliance like, for example, Nato.



                  The Star Wars Galactic Republic seems to resemble a federal state or federation, in which power is shared or divided between the central federal government and the governments of the various parts of the state, but which is legally a single independent and sovereign government in international affairs.




                  A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governing status of the component states, as well as the division of power between them and the central government, is typically constitutionally entrenched and may not be altered by a unilateral decision of either party, the states or the federal political body. Alternatively, federation is a form of government in which sovereign power is formally divided between a central authority and a number of constituent regions so that each region retains some degree of control over its internal affairs. It is often argued that federal states where the central government has the constitutional authority to suspend a constituent state's government by invoking gross mismanagement or civil unrest, or to adopt national legislation that overrides or infringe on the constituent states' powers by invoking the central government's constitutional authority to ensure "peace and good government" or to implement obligations contracted under an international treaty, are not truly federal states.




                  At the present time there are 27 federations or federal states listed out of approximately 195 independent states in the world. Most of the largest and/or most populous nations are federations.



                  Most sovereign states are unitary states with a single government for the whole state.




                  A unitary state is sometimes one with only a single, centralised, national tier of government. However, unitary states often also include one or more self-governing regions. The difference between a federation and this kind of unitary state is that in a unitary state the autonomous status of self-governing regions exists by the sufferance of the central government, and may be unilaterally revoked.




                  Another type of state is a confederation.




                  A confederation, in modern political terms, is usually limited to a permanent union of sovereign states for common action in relation to other states. The closest entity in the world to a confederation at this time is the European Union. While the word "confederation" was officially used when the present Canadian federal system was established in 1868, the term refers only to the process and not the resulting state since Canadian provinces are not sovereign and do not claim to be. In the case of Switzerland, while the country is still known as the Swiss Confederation (Confoederatio Helvetica, Confédération suisse) this is also now a misnomer since the Swiss cantons lost their sovereign status in 1848.




                  If the Galactic Republic in Star Wars was a confederation of independent and sovereign states for common action with regard to other sovereign states then each of the planetary, star system, or interstellar governments which joined the Galactic Republic would have the right to unilaterally withdraw from the Galactic Republic and there would be an official procedure to do so. Therefore it would be unlikely for separatists to risk civil war by illegally seceding instead of by seceding by the legal method.



                  The only confederation existing at the present is the European Union, and it is legally possible for a member nation to unilaterally withdraw from the European Union, as the United Kingdom is doing now via "Brexit".



                  Therefore, I deduce that the government of the Galactic Republic has no legal method for planetary, star system, or interstellar, governments to secede from it. Therefore, the government of the Galactic Republic should resemble either a federation or a unitary state (perhaps one with a lot of autonomy for member governments) instead of a confederation.



                  Note that the Galactic government is not called the Galactic Union, the Galactic League, the Galactic Confederation, or the Galactic Federation, but the Galactic Republic. Thus there is nothing in the name of the state to indicate whether is is a unitary state, a federation, or confederation.






                  share|improve this answer















                  In Earth politics it may be possible to leave an alliance unilaterally. Most treaties of alliance have clauses describing the conditions for leaving the alliance, usually giving each party the power to leave the alliance unilaterally within a certain period after giving notice of their intention.



                  But the Galactic Republic in Star Wars is much more similar to an independent state on modern Earth than to an alliance like, for example, Nato.



                  The Star Wars Galactic Republic seems to resemble a federal state or federation, in which power is shared or divided between the central federal government and the governments of the various parts of the state, but which is legally a single independent and sovereign government in international affairs.




                  A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governing status of the component states, as well as the division of power between them and the central government, is typically constitutionally entrenched and may not be altered by a unilateral decision of either party, the states or the federal political body. Alternatively, federation is a form of government in which sovereign power is formally divided between a central authority and a number of constituent regions so that each region retains some degree of control over its internal affairs. It is often argued that federal states where the central government has the constitutional authority to suspend a constituent state's government by invoking gross mismanagement or civil unrest, or to adopt national legislation that overrides or infringe on the constituent states' powers by invoking the central government's constitutional authority to ensure "peace and good government" or to implement obligations contracted under an international treaty, are not truly federal states.




                  At the present time there are 27 federations or federal states listed out of approximately 195 independent states in the world. Most of the largest and/or most populous nations are federations.



                  Most sovereign states are unitary states with a single government for the whole state.




                  A unitary state is sometimes one with only a single, centralised, national tier of government. However, unitary states often also include one or more self-governing regions. The difference between a federation and this kind of unitary state is that in a unitary state the autonomous status of self-governing regions exists by the sufferance of the central government, and may be unilaterally revoked.




                  Another type of state is a confederation.




                  A confederation, in modern political terms, is usually limited to a permanent union of sovereign states for common action in relation to other states. The closest entity in the world to a confederation at this time is the European Union. While the word "confederation" was officially used when the present Canadian federal system was established in 1868, the term refers only to the process and not the resulting state since Canadian provinces are not sovereign and do not claim to be. In the case of Switzerland, while the country is still known as the Swiss Confederation (Confoederatio Helvetica, Confédération suisse) this is also now a misnomer since the Swiss cantons lost their sovereign status in 1848.




                  If the Galactic Republic in Star Wars was a confederation of independent and sovereign states for common action with regard to other sovereign states then each of the planetary, star system, or interstellar governments which joined the Galactic Republic would have the right to unilaterally withdraw from the Galactic Republic and there would be an official procedure to do so. Therefore it would be unlikely for separatists to risk civil war by illegally seceding instead of by seceding by the legal method.



                  The only confederation existing at the present is the European Union, and it is legally possible for a member nation to unilaterally withdraw from the European Union, as the United Kingdom is doing now via "Brexit".



                  Therefore, I deduce that the government of the Galactic Republic has no legal method for planetary, star system, or interstellar, governments to secede from it. Therefore, the government of the Galactic Republic should resemble either a federation or a unitary state (perhaps one with a lot of autonomy for member governments) instead of a confederation.



                  Note that the Galactic government is not called the Galactic Union, the Galactic League, the Galactic Confederation, or the Galactic Federation, but the Galactic Republic. Thus there is nothing in the name of the state to indicate whether is is a unitary state, a federation, or confederation.







                  share|improve this answer














                  share|improve this answer



                  share|improve this answer








                  edited 6 hours ago









                  V2Blast

                  14819




                  14819










                  answered 9 hours ago









                  M. A. GoldingM. A. Golding

                  14.7k12357




                  14.7k12357






























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