ST The politics of TFA

I just saw the film, and there are things about the movie that confuse/intrigue me. Particularly, the politics and political division of the galaxy. First:

The New Republic and the Resistance. The Republic seems to be the dominant galactic power, but isolationist and apathetic to what happens beyond their borders. The Resistance appears to be a Republic-backed insurgency of people under First Order rule, created as a means for the republic military to evade the senate's pacifism. With the destruction of the senate and the capitol, I assume the republic will officially unify with the resistance. The Republic's fate and relationship with the resistance is unclear though, so I would like to hear others' input.

Next, The First Order. Who Snoke is and how the first order came to be is a mystery, but since the senate dismissed them as a non-threat, it would seem they're small or at last very concealed. Snoke's location is unknown, but starkiller base seemed to act as the order's main base of operations. Where is Coruscant and who owns it? Did the First Order just choose to not base themselves there or is Coruscant not theirs? Has the First Order completely replaced the Empire and inherited it's post-war territory, or are there other imperial remnants out there? This part I have no theory on, and I want to hear peoples' ideas.

 

After the Battle of Jakku, 1 year and a few months after the destruction of the second Death Star, a treaty/ceasefire was signed between the remainder of the Empire and the New Republic. The First Order coalesced on the outskirts of the Galaxy, and just how many old Imperials made it out there is uncertain as of TFA. Also how much territory the New Republic has managed to gain in the last 29 years is also uncertain. Hosnian Prime is a core planet apparently, so they're not stuck in the mid to outer rim any more

 

"The Republic's fate and relationship with the resistance is unclear though,"

Yeah it is kind of sketchy in the movie. The Resistance is a private army led by General Leia. The Republic doesn't want another galactic scale conflict. There is a character we get to see on Hosnian Prime that is Leia's emmisary to the senate because they view her as a warmonger and paranoid. Now that the Republic has no functioning government or fleet I don't see how they have any other choice than to join with the Resistance. This almost feels like a similar scenario to the old Tales of the Jedi comic Golden Age of the Sith when 1 star system had to repel the entire Sith invasion. That was cool.

 

I'm not sure if anyone read Aftermath, but in one of the Interludes Mon Mothma is speaking with her advisors and discussing cutting the New Republic's military by 90% and have the remaining 10 be a...just used for basic peacekeeping I believe. So taking that into consideration it's no wonder they're relying on the Resistance. Also, where do we see the Battle of Jakku? I think I missed that.

 

Maythe14thBeWithYou the battle itself is during Lost Stars, we see the remnants of it with Reys "house", what she's scavenging, etc

 

Oh sweet! I still need to read that one. I got a massive (well large) Cannon catch up plan for next year.

 

So, does the Empire still exist as a weakened, toothless government, and the First Order is just a fringe group of radicals, or has the Empire been swallowed up by the New Republic and First Order? I doubt the Republic would have shrugged off the first order if they controlled important core worlds like Coruscant.

 

A post I made:

http://boards.theforce.net/threads/...ic-and-the-resistance.50036040/#post-53001850

 

Does any of the JTTFA stuff give any info on this?

 

So Snoke worked fast. He bribed Republic senators who were formerly Imperial senators and who missed the luxury they had before. These senators pushed for a treaty with the First Order. Pacifist Mothma agreed in part to attract more systems to trust the Republic and join it. In the treaty the First Order agreed to demilitarize (90%?, 100%?) and payment of hefty reparations. Then they secretly rebuilt their fleet, improved the technology, developed strormtropers from birth, and built the Starkiller Base.

Also, Snoke wanted Ben from his birth. The time between VI and VII was around 30 years and Ren I around 29. So, again he had to work fast after Endor or Jakku. I doubt he's the admiral. How long after Endor was that?

Plagueis, anyone.

 

Jakku was about a year after Endor. In either case, it's confirmed the Empire signed the treaty. The First Order was formed after the war ended, not before. How the first order built up so quickly and constructed starkiller base is astonishing, unless you use the "we didn't build it, we found it" excuse used several times in the EU. I assume starkiller base was already in the design phase under Palpatine's Empire, but never built by them.

I still reiterate my question: Does the Galactic Empire still exist in a severely weakened state alongside the first order, or has it been dissolved and its former member worlds becoming first order and republic? It would have made sense if it collapsed. The Empire ruled by fear of force. The republic took that away, and the hardliners that truly believed in the empire became the first order.

 

I had wondered if there was a parallel of GE/FO and NR/R. And if the Empire was core worlds. Sounds like it dissolved.

 

The Empire does not exist, it was fractured into groups of Moffs at first, then a few of the hardliners banded together and unified to create the First Order, they are banished to the outer rim/unkown regions and there is a region of space between them and the Republic that is considered neutral territory.