What is the Galactic Alliance?

I got to thinking while reading Allies and realized that I don't really understand how the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances really works. I guess it comes down to these things. I understand that the Empire may not FULLY be a GA member, whatever that means, but consider some of my questions as if they were.

Who is all in the GA? Basically all the planets that used to be in the New Republic plus the Empire and Hapes? Are the Vong and Zenoma Sekot? Corporate Sector? Mandalore? Hutts?

It appears that the levels of Government are this. It has a Chief of State, it has a Senate. The Senate does wield some power. How are the representatives broken down? If every New Republic planet was given a seat, the Empire is given a seat, and the Hapans are given a seat....the Imperials and Hapans would always be outnumbered 2398578934789347 to 1. Even if each sector was given a seat and the Empire was given a seat they are still far outnumbered. Do the Imperials and Hapan seats "count" as more? Are the Empire and Hapans even involved in the senate?

What does being in the GA mean to the Empire and Hapes? It seems mostly to be "Hey, we won't attack you right now and we promise to cooperate with each other in case another band of maurading aliens starts to rampage the galaxy." If the GA passes a galaxy wide law outlawing slavery do planets in the Empire have to obey? What if they don't? What if another member planet doesn't? With the GA's most commonly shown to bring the fleet to settle planetary disputes, it seems it is more of a military government masquerading as a legislative one.

The details are just so sketchy. I really don't know what it is.

 

The end of The New Jedi Order contained so much potential for a new kind of government, but after The Unifying Force, it basically became the New Republic with a different name.

Except there's no senate, if LOTF and FOTJ are to be believed.

I think the Empire had a larger role in it until Pellaeon withdrew back into Remnant Space during Bloodlines. He was their Supreme Commander, after all.

 

Good topic! I've been wondering the exact same thing myself lately. I thought I just fundamentally didn't get politics.

Which is right about the part I get lost.

 

The Galactic Alliance is essentially a reorganization of the New Republic, albeit with a more federal structure than the old confederal nature of the NR. The main changes that Cal Omas instituted in the Galactic Alliance was the introduction of checks and balances between the three branches of government. The Senate lost it's executive power and it's control of the Judiciary, and became a true legislative branch. The Chief of State became a more independent executive, while the courts were finally allowed to be a separate but equal part of the government's structure.

So, on the face of it, imagine the Galactic Alliance as a revamped and more federalized New Republic.

However, the main thing that confuses people is the Galactic Alliance's relationship with powers like the Empire, Hapes, and the Chiss. It is easiest to break the GA's membership structure down as follows:

Full fledged member worlds (majority of GA membership, essentially all NR worlds)
Semi-independent allies (Hapes is the best example of this)
Security cooperation allies (Non-voters, like the Empire and Chiss)

Some people thought that the Empire was a voting member of the GA, but that was recently cleared up in FOTJ when it was explained that Gilad Pellaeon was granted citizenship when he commanded the Galactic Alliance Defense Force during the Swarm War.

I could elaborate on the GA in greater detail, but I am traveling for business so I should probably move on to somehting else until the weekend.

--Adm. Nick

 

I suppose for sake of analogy and parallel, we could loosely, very loosely, equate the Galactic Alliance with a United Nations that actually could exercise authority.

 

I'm not sure that would fit, it's not really like the United Nations, even loosely. AdmiralNick explained it best.

On one level, it's a federal republic. It's full name is the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances. But it's basically the New Republic reformed. It went from Old Republic Senate and European-style Parliament to... something closer to the United States Senate, Presidency, and Federal Court System.

On a higher level, it has close alliances (or did, before Caedus) with the Hapans, Imperials, and somewhat the Chiss. Don't know about Hutts, Mandalorians, and a few other minor galactic powers. But when the Galactic Alliance allies with somebody, it becomes an "allied state," where it's an ally but also considered part of the "greater GA." Not sure what that means legally. But the GA exists without these allied states: the Hapans, Imperials, and a good number of New Republic systems joined as "the Confederation" left the Galactic Alliance under Caedus... and as of FOTJ: ALLIES, they still haven't reunified yet.

But the closer real-world example may be a loose comparison to the European Union and the United Kingdom. Technically, the UK is part of the EU, but is hasn't fully integrated as much as the other mainland European nations, such as not adopting the euro. Though there really isn't a good real-world comparison.

 

ahem... I have to throw in this:

The Galactic FEDERATION of FREE Alliances (as is the full name!) is the GA+Hapans, Empire etc. akin to an overgovernment of our planet

The nicknamed "Galactic Alliance" is the "new New Republic"

they are two different things actually or rather two different levels in the whole complex. this lower tier below the Galactic Federation has never been properly named and could be seen as either the former New Republic, now just named the Republic (as the old republic once had been) or it has a new yet unknown name.

first the NJO, then Dark Nest and later LOTF and FOTJ again tried to show unification yet ultimately rendered it incomplete to have conflicting factions. that is very stupid. the GA was formed in Destineys way as NR successor with the opportunity to unite the galaxy including the empire by the time the war is over. Dark Nest showed that the Empire HAD JOINED while still keeping SOME sovereignity but not all. LOTF paddled back then with pure stupidity and ignorance and had it outside yet again together with many others that either left, split of or were retconned to never have been in (Hutts, etc.) thus FOTJ again tries to reuinite what had been reunited had LOTF not ignored previous EU canon (as well as other matters we fans know and complain about).


thus in short for better understanding:

Galactic Federation of Free Alliances = overgovernment including Imps, Hapes, Hutts, etc. all since the end of the NJO as per canon (and maybe even the Chiss, making the Swarm War an internal matter rather than external!)

LOTF then came by and canon went boom along with Jedi Vergere and Hero-Jacen.

Galactic Alliance was turned into just the New Republic clone with more presidential powers thus ignoring a senate completely. Empire, hutts and other factions were excluded as well or separated to form the confederacy.

FOTJ then tries to clear the mess up offscreen (how "wise" *cough cough* again)

GA will one day be all galaxy happily ever after united whenever they decide to not invent another Mofference plot

thus... I hope it gets a bit clearer where the confusion came from and how things really are.

 

Actually its real set up is more like that of the US then the EU. It has a system of checks and balances that is basically the Same as the US with a Chief of State as an executive with a pretty decent amount of power. The Senate is just a legislative body having lost its executive power from the New Republic days and an semi-independent judicary(we don't know how judges are appointed yet). The Eu member states are not tied as strongly to the EU as the planets of the GA or the states in the US are. Heck they even had their own states rights civil war just like the US did with the Second Galatic Civil War.

 

I wonder more what kind of government replacement the confederacy had in the 2 years it did not rejoin yet...

during the 2nd civil war they had organised a unified military command structure despite keeping authorities for individual minor strikes with each member of the confederacy. but a civilian government, legislature etc.? did they ever form that or rather not looking forward to rejoining the GA on there terms in the near future? was it confed members for themselves in these 2 years or did they have an interim confed government formed? for why should they do that if they intend to rejoin?

 

I compared it to the United States too. But I was saying in relation to the Imps/Hapans/etc it was more like EU.

The whole point of the Confederation was to NOT have any centralization. They only thing unifying them is their military defense force. That's it. Every system comes up with their own laws.

 

funny though is that that was the very reason they LEFT the GA and turned separatist. they were against sending too much of their forces into the unified GA military. they were against centralized military might and now they did it themselves lol funny and ironic

 

Yeah, none of that's true. The Galactic Alliance is the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances. There's probably plenty of sources I could point to if you need them, but I have the Legacy Era Campaign Guide open in front of me, so let's go with that, page 119.

The LECG is probably the only place that lays out the structure of the government; if the OP has access to it, it might help. It also explains the role of the Remnant, Hapans, and Chiss; they're Allied Autonomous Regions, which engage in self-rule, but hold mutual defense treaties with the GA government and have open diplomatic relationships with it. They contribute to the GA defense force, and the GA in turn protects them. They don't have senators.

LOTF had a Senate; G'vli G'Sil was a Coruscant senator, and there was that whole thing in Sacrifice with the secret Chief of State law being passed by Jacen.

 

you can point me to many sources that IGNORE earlier canon as the NJO established it. and I go BY that earlier canon where the GA was a two leveled approach. one with a NR replaceent and a larger scaled overgovernment including the allied states and allies.

I know all your sources, completist habit.

 

NJO, you say?

It's the same thing.

 

well, if the NR is now the GA... what is the thing called that includes the Empire etc. already as of Dark Nest and early LOTF? they did not join the NR-reborn-into-GA. Hapes is an allied sovereign state. not part of the NR-reborn-into-GA but part of something that encompasses them both. nameless? doubt it. Galactic Federation of Free Alliances sounds more like that overgovernment with the lower tier being either the allince, the republic etc. whatever.

 

The Galactic Republic existed for thousands of years, but it never was an over-government encompassing the whole galaxy.

Galactic Alliance, aka Galactic Federation of Free Alliances, is just the renamed New Republic.

Nick and Hydronium already explained above that the Hapans, Imperials, etc. were allied states of the GA.

No canon was overturned here from the NJO, just clarified. There is no figure/government/sovereign that governs GA space, Imperial space, Hapan space, all together.

 

Actually, IR was apparently intended to be fully integrated into GA after NJO, not being around in DN at all and only being re-introduced in LotF likely because of Legacy.

And if you believe Wookieepedia (and why wouldn't you):

Bringing their former adversary, the Imperial Remnant, as well as the Hapes Consortium into the new government, the Alliance achieved what previous governments had long hoped for?a unified government of the known galaxy. This was further achieved with the cooperation of the Chiss Ascendancy, an insular civilization from the Unknown Regions on the edge of the galaxy.

 

Ceiran, this is simply not correct and is based on ZERO factual evidence. As Hydro pointed out, the Legacy Era Campaign Guide establishes EXACTLY what the GA is.

For the sake of ending this discussion, I shall quote directly from the LECG.

LECG, pg. 119

"The Galactic Federation of Free Alliances rules the galaxy from late in the Yuuzhan Vong invasion until its defeat at the hands of a resurgent Empire around a hundred years later. Better known as the Galactic Alliance, this new government addresses the inefficency anf ineffectiveness of the New Republic government to counter the Yuuzhan Vong threat."

LECG, pg. 120

"The Galactic Alliance government evolves over the years. Through it all, the Alliance remains a constitutional federation of member worlds and allied autonomous regions."

LECG, pg. 121

"Allied autonomous regions join the Galactic Alliance primarily for purposes of mutual defense. These regions rule themselves, handling virtually all internal matters without Galactic Alliance aid or direct influence. Their own laws and customs take precedence over Alliance legislation in most cases. As such, these states do not elect senators to the Galactic Senate. Instead, they send ambassadors and other representatives to Coruscant to negotiate or consult Alliance officials, as needed. These regions contribute troops, ships, or fleets to the Galactic Alliance Defense Force, and in exchange, the Alliance agrees to protect the regions's interests.

LECG, pg. 121

"The Imperial Remnant, the Hapes Consortium, and the Chiss Ascendancy are the largest and most prominent allied sutonomous regions."

Personal fanon aside, there is no doubt about the setup of the Galactic Alliance. The United Nations or European Union is NOT the best description for the Galactic Alliance. If anything, the Galactic Alliance is a cross between the United States of America and NATO. The various member worlds are essentially like the various states of the Union, while the Imperial Remnant, Hapes, the Chiss, and other powers are security allies in a NATO-style mutual defense pact.

--Adm. Nick