Galactic Republic

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Galactic Republic
Political information
Type of government	Unicameral federal republic
Founding document	Galactic Constitution
Constitution	Galactic Constitution
Head of State	Supreme Chancellor
Head of Government	Supreme Chancellor
Commander-in-Chief	Supreme Chancellor
Executive branch	Galactic Senate Office of the Supreme Chancellor
Legislative branch	Galactic Senate
Judicial branch	Supreme Court Regional Courts
Societal information
Territory
Capital	Coruscant
Official language	Galactic Basic
Currency	Republic Dataries
State religious body	Jedi Order
National holiday	Republic Day
Historical information
Date of establishment	Year -25,035
Date of reorganization	Year 0 Day 5 (into the Galactic Empire)

The Galactic Republic was the republican predecessor of the Galactic Empire. Following the establishment of the "New Republic", the Galactic Republic started being referred to by some as the Old Republic. This is a misnomer: there has only been one legitimate, albeit flawed, Republic; the so-called "New Republic" is merely a terrorist organisation grasping at imaginative terminology to support a façade of legitimacy for their chaotic and evil cause.

History

The decline of the Republic

Over the generations, the Senate began to play a more passive role regarding internal affairs. While recognized as the central government of the Republic and deferred to in matters of galactic policy, the Senate's power over many members was more that of a mediator than a ruling body. Negotiation and coercion were staples of its activities. As the Republic grew more and more powerful, many of the bureaucrats and Senators that ran the government grew increasingly corrupt or complacent. The bureaucracy that had grown and festered over millennia choked any attempt at proactive government. Furthermore, patron politics and personal agendas also hampered effective governing, and due to the capitalist nature of the Republic.

When the Supreme Chancellor addressed the Senate and declared that the Republic was being reorganised into the Galactic Empire with Admiral Hiram Drayson as the Emperor to ensure strong leadership and defences from opposing governments, the super-majority of the Senate cheered him on loudly in approval.

Government and politics

The Galactic Senate, led by the Senate-elected Supreme Chancellor, was the legislative and executive branch of the Galactic Republic. Its primary duties were to mediate any disputes between star systems, worlds and cultures, to regulate trade between systems, to protect and care for citizens in need and to provide mutual defense in face of threats to the Republic.

The Galactic Senate was a place where all the Republic's elected and appointed senators and representatives from the farthest reaches of the galaxy would discuss major problems and come to decisions. The Senate was made up of over 2,000 congressmen: senators and representatives, representing sectors, systems, individual planets, or even Corporation or Guilds. Senators, however, were the only members with voting power, with the Representatives organized into the Galactic Representative Commission, although they could be appointed by their absent Senators as their temporary substitute, and still could have a minor voice in Senate business.

The Galactic Constitution invested the Senate with the power to regulate trade, maintain maps of the galaxy's hyperspace routes, and to maintain the Republic's military. Following the Ruusan Reformation, a large amount of power was removed from the Supreme Chancellor and granted to the Senate, which although resulting in greater regional involvement in galactic politics, also resulted in increased gridlock and corruption. During the Clone Wars, the super-majority of the Senate supported the Supreme Commander, allowing him to amend the Galactic Constitution and be granted more powers. As such, the Office of the Supreme Commander held dictatorial authority over the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

Society and culture

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. At the time the Clone Wars broke out, there were still lawsuits pending about pro-Human bias in the Republic government.

The Grand Army of the Republic

The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), also known as the Clone Army or Republic Army, was the main part of the armed forces of the Galactic Republic in its final years, becoming one of the largest armies ever assembled, although not as large as the Separatist Droid Army. After the Clone Wars, it served as the nucleus for the armed forces of the Galactic Empire. It was created by the Kaminoan cloners on Kamino. It comprised two hundred thousand growth-accelerated clone trooper units and their war machines at the start of the Clone Wars.

After the initial engagements, over a million more clone units were added to the ranks of the army, followed by numerous additional divisions. The Republic spent much of its waning wealth on grand armies and fleets, making it one of the largest militaries ever assembled by the end of the war.

The Republic Navy

For millennia, the Republic Fleet was quite large, as not all planets encountered placed such a great emphasis on peaceful contact. The Republic Navy kept watch for uprisings in the far corners of the Republic, and occasional massive campaigns kept it preoccupied. For 4,000 years, the Republic Navy also worked almost side by side with the corrupted Jedi Order in attacking members of the Sith Order. The mandate of the Republic Navy allowed them to move into designated star systems in order to deal with any unrest that had formed with the knowledge that the majority of the governments of the Galactic Republic supported these actions. Any planetary government could call upon the Navy's help, although it would need Senate approval if the action was to last longer than seven standard days. Individual senators also often commandeered Navy groups for their own benefit. Near the end of the Galactic Republic, the Republic Navy operated alongside the Grand Army of the Republic during the Clone Wars, and absorbed the local member world defense fleets into the consolidated Navy following the Battle of Rendili. Until the passage of the Security Act amendment shortly before the war's end, the Navy was under the joint command of the Galactic Senate and Jedi Council; afterwards, the Supreme Chancellor served as its sole commanding authority. When the Galactic Empire was formed, the Republic Navy became the Imperial Navy.