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PT Political Structure of the Republic

Discussion in 'Star Wars Saga In-Depth' started by SavedByChristAlone, Feb 8, 2017.

  1. ShaneP

    ShaneP Ex-Mod Officio star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Mar 26, 2001
    Yeah the East side is the best side. Galafornia Love.

    But yes, the West side is wild space where navigation is difficult.

    Make an anthology!

    Star Wars: West Side Story
     
    Bazinga'd likes this.
  2. darklordoftech

    darklordoftech Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Sep 30, 2012
    Ghost Where in canon is Tatooine stated to nominally be part of the Republic?
     
  3. Ghost

    Ghost Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Oct 13, 2003
    Some of this info is from Legends, but I don't see why it wouldn't still be true in the new canon.

    As well as my earlier points from how Padme, Shmi, and Qui-gon talked about it. And its proximity to Separatist planets like Geonosis.




    [​IMG]
     
  4. ShaneP

    ShaneP Ex-Mod Officio star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Mar 26, 2001
    Shmi contradicts the assertion that Tatooine is nominally a part of the Galactic Republic. She states the Republic doesn't exist out here. Now, it is possible it is some Republic colonial unorganized territory with no real Republic presence but it is also controlled by the Hutts. So there's another suggestion it is outside Republic boundaries.
     
  5. Bazinga'd

    Bazinga'd Saga / WNU Manager - Knights of LAJ star 7 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Nov 1, 2012
    That may just be from her perspective. There are people in the US these days that dont recognize the current administration.
     
  6. Alexrd

    Alexrd Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 7, 2009
    But the administration still exists. It's not just her perspective. Republic currency is not even recognized and it's established that there's nobody there friendly to the Republic.
     
  7. Ghost

    Ghost Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Oct 13, 2003
    Like I said, Tatooine is like some Wild West Town in the 1800's... technically part of the government, but really they're on their own.
     
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  8. Alexrd

    Alexrd Chosen One star 6

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    Jul 7, 2009
    They aren't part of the government, technically or otherwise.
     
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  9. Iron_lord

    Iron_lord Chosen One star 10

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    Sep 2, 2012
    We do have Watto saying "Republic credits are no good out here".
     
  10. Ghost

    Ghost Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Oct 13, 2003
    Yet Qui-gon thought they would be...

    Do you think the US Dollar was much good out in the Wild West? Or would a bag of actual gold have been worth more to them, something "more real" (to use Watto's words).
     
  11. darkspine10

    darkspine10 Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Dec 7, 2014
    There's also Qui-Gon's line about if Anakin had been born in the Republic he would have been identified by the Jedi at a young age, strongly suggesting that Tatooine is not in the Republic.
     
  12. Alexrd

    Alexrd Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 7, 2009
    Exactly. The movies establish that Tatooine is not part of the Republic. If the EU established the opposite, then it was just another example of complete disregard of what's in the movies. It's not like it was the only time it happened. And people wonder why it was rebooted...
     
  13. Bazinga'd

    Bazinga'd Saga / WNU Manager - Knights of LAJ star 7 Staff Member Manager

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    Nov 1, 2012
    I buy that line as support that Tatooine is not part of the Republic far more than Shmi's musings.
     
  14. darth-sinister

    darth-sinister Manager Emeritus star 10 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jun 28, 2001

    Qui-gon thought that they might be since some planets in the Outer Rim probably do trade in Republic credits. By the time of TPM, Republic credits had no standing in the Outer Rim. By ANH, Imperial credits were acceptable.
     
  15. The_Phantom_Calamari

    The_Phantom_Calamari Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 10, 2011
    There's basically nothing at all in the movies to suggest that Tatooine is part of the Republic, while on the other hand there are multiple lines either strongly implying or directly stating that it isn't. Then we have TCW, which was overseen by Lucas and considered part of the filmic canon, which further solidifies Tatooine's non-Republic status by having the debut movie's plot revolve around the Republic negotiating a treaty with the Hutts (represented by Jabba on Tatooine) to establish permission for Republic vessels to make use of routes through Hutt Space.
     
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  16. ATMachine

    ATMachine Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 27, 2007
    Out-of-universe, Lucas back in 1975 considered having the title of the Republic's chief executive be "Emperor". That presumably is the reason why the SW 1977 novelization by Alan Dean Foster mentions "the later corrupt Emperors." It also means that Leia would become Empress Leia at the end of the OT.

    I guess the notion was that the Republic had been a monarchy in some long-distant past (like ancient Rome), and had retained the title Emperor as an archaic descriptor for the head of government. But when Palpatine came along, the office of Emperor would increase vastly in power, creating an Empire to match his title. A kind of loose parallel not only with Rome, but with the Meiji restoration in 19th century Japan, where an Emperor who was previously a figurehead was elevated to a position of absolute power via military backing.
     
  17. Darkslayer

    Darkslayer #1 Sabine Wren Fan star 7

    Registered:
    Mar 26, 2013
    This is an amazing thread. Ghost and Alexrd great discussion, very engaging read. I will contribute myself when I'm not on my phone.
     
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  18. SavedByChristAlone

    SavedByChristAlone Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Jan 26, 2017
    @Ghost's idea that Republic-era Tatooine was basically like a Wild West town was the impression I always got too, because Padme thought that Republic law would apply out there. You'd probably expect a 14-year-old Queen to be reasonably well-versed in geography, but a bit naive.
    I also agree with Ghost when he says the Jedi should have been acting throughout the whole Galaxy and not jumping to the beck and call of the Senate.
    As for The Clone Wars, I have . . . mixed feelings about putting them into my own personal canon.

    I still say that if the Republic goes around saying that it's the galactic commonwealth or something and has no borders, no limits, and says that everyone is part of its (benevolent) rule, that adds a whole new dimension to the Separatist Crisis - the Separatists are undermining the legitimacy of the Republic itself, not just its territory.
     
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  19. MrMojoRisin

    MrMojoRisin Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 20, 2005
    I have to agree that the evidence from the movies overwhelmingly point toward Tattooine not being in the Republic.
     
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  20. SavedByChristAlone

    SavedByChristAlone Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Jan 26, 2017
    OK, I admit defeat. There seems to be overwhelming evidence that Tatooine was not in the Republic, perhaps not even nominally. Now I have to go away and reconfigure my whole understanding of Star Wars politics again.
     
  21. MrMojoRisin

    MrMojoRisin Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 20, 2005
    Nah. Just Tattooine. But it's confusing anyway.
     
  22. Alexrd

    Alexrd Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 7, 2009
    If you take the information provided by the movies, it's not confusing at all.
     
  23. SavedByChristAlone

    SavedByChristAlone Jedi Youngling star 1

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    Jan 26, 2017
    Actually, it was the impression I got from the movies. I don't do the EU.
     
  24. Alexrd

    Alexrd Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 7, 2009
    How exactly does one get the impression that Tatooine is part of the Republic, from the movies alone?
     
  25. theraphos

    theraphos Jedi Knight star 2

    Registered:
    May 20, 2016
    Honestly, from what I've seen, I think Padme's one clunkily-written line of dialogue is the only thing that gets remembered and repeated in a lot of ongoing discussion about how bad and evil the Jedi/Republic were, which keeps that fresh in everyone's memory, and all the other inconvenient things that indicate the popular interpretation of her one line is incorrect are quietly left off the table.

    It's the same way we get "Luminara didn't care if her padawan died and just said 'welp they're dead let's leave lol'" in TCW conversations when that literally did not happen, but some people are completely convinced it did.