Why did the New Republic become the Galactic Alliance?

Man, with some of the bad mouthing of the Old Old republic, you'd almost forget it lasted 21,000 years before finally falling.

Compare that to the Old Republic and its thousand.

And as someone pointed out, the Old Republic survived because it ignored stuff.

 

To combine forces with the Empire and Hapans and such to drive back the Vong. The Alliances didn't last long but the name stuck.

Did the Bothans ever rejoin the GA or are they still doing their own thing?

 

I tend to think the Valorum Republic probably would've been able to triumph over the Vong; yes there was no central military, but as we see the Republic was capable of getting it's military act together quite quickly in the face of the Sep crisis. As for the Republic not having a centralized military-yeah, from all we've seen it was from the Jedi just being that damn good. Plus iirc there were pretty rigid laws about what member systems could and could not have militarily-no transgalactic-range heavy warships, for starters.

 

That's only because Palpatine was secretly growing a Clone Army for 10 years.

As for the Jedi, if more than half the order can be taken out by Battle Droids over 3 years, then they stood no chance against the Yuuzhan Vong.

 

Yeah I agree. The Valorum Republic with no secret Clone Army just waiting to be picked up would have been curbstomped by the Vong. The only hope the Republic would have would be making Droid armies as fast as possible, which going against the Vong would be interesting as well. Over half the Jedi Order would have been dead trying to hold the Vong back until the Republic could get an army together let alone a fleet.

 

Hardly, and even losses of that magnitude would not have been likely to turn the war for the YV, as in 25 ABY there were perhaps 100 Jedi and the YV still lost and in 250 BBY there would have been about 10 000 Jedi.

 

If you all legitimately don't think the forces of the Trade Federation/Commerce Guild/Techno Union/etc would not have been nationalized in one big hurry when the YV showed their face (especially when the Jedi were actually listened to, as the Valorum-era Chancellors typically did) not to mention the distinct possibility of a galactic draft, well, I suppose there's no logic in arguing this. The Republic would have had a military of battle droids within days of a YV invasion, followed by virtually limitless draftees within months. Not to mention 10k Jedi and a Supreme Chancellor that would have had emergency powers thrown at him/her/it more than likely immediately.

 

They only got these forces because of Sidious's manipulations, just sayin

 

Because when the first post-RoTJ books were written, nobody knew what the Old Republic was actually like.

Also, in the words of Padme Amidala, "It is clear to me the Republic no longer functions."

 

Maybe, but the galaxy was full of militias and warrior cultures capable of fighting nearly full scale wars on their own. The majority of these were destroyed or crippled in the Clone Wars, or in Sith caused conflicts prior to the war. As a matter of fact, one of the main objectives of the One Sith was to eliminate any military force that could oppose them.

Nor can we ignore economic power. The Galaxy at the time of the YV invasion suffered civil war after civil war, destroying infrastructure on a massive scale, draining unimaginable resources, and generally making the galaxy war weary and cynical. Even then the New Republic enjoyed such an overwhelming economic advantage over the YV that they did win the war. A fully invigorated and patriotic galaxy, with the full manufacturing might of its corporations, the participation of its warrior cultures, and undivided by civil war? The YV would have had fun in the first few years, but after that it wouldn't even be a contest.

A good comparison would be the United States in World War 2. At the beginning of the war of the War the United States military was more of a punchline to a joke than anything, consisting of a tiny number of men so under equipped that they trained by pointing stick at trucks with "tank" painted on them. By the end of the war the United States military was one of the largest, best trained, and well equipped in the world.

 

America has a huge mote to protect it while it builds up its military might. I understand the comparison, but an actual invasion of American soil would be incredibly difficult.

 

Then perhaps the Soviet Union would be a better comparison.

 

To be fair, the scenerio outlined above should have made it more likely that the New Republic would have crushed the Yuuzhan Vong when they first appeared. Having war after war, while destroying some infrastructure, would also require vast sums to be invested in the production and construction of military materials. If you're always gearing up for war then you're always building weapons. In times of peace those resources and industries turn to making other, more commercial items.

Yes, you are right and I applaud the fact that you seem to be one of the few people who seems to know anything about history. The American military right before World War 2 was indeed poorly equipped, trained, and very small. But I assume you're making this point to back up your statement about the New Republic/ peacetime vs. continuous war from above. This however was not the case. While America was not involved in the war in the beginning (and therefore was in peacetime) our economy was already beeing turned to producing weapons of war both to outfit our own troops and to "sell" to those countries fighting Germany. Therefore, once war came, we were more prepared since our economy had already been turned to producing weapons. It would have been a different story if we had had to start from scratch. Also, the Soviet Union is not a good comparison since the only good weapon they created in the war was the T-34 tank. Everything else they got from the US through Lend Lease. Also, dictators can turn their economies around more quickly than Republics since they have no one to answer too and can take more severe steps with their work force.

Likewater, the Jedi did not steal the election from Fyor Rodan. Their "Rebel" friends exposed corrupt politicians who Fyor Rodan was using to get elected. Maybe he should have found better allies if he wanted to win the election.

 

Also, think about the psychological effect an army of automatons butchering them would have had on the YV. When the NR started using those Vong-killer T-800 knock-offs, the Vong got totally enraged and fought poorly. Now imagine their reaction if automated mooks were fighting them in unending waves.

Also, no Borsk Fey'lya. That alone counts for so much. Why he wasn't assassinated decades before is beyond my comprehension. He deserved a gunshot to the face.

 

The New Republic military wasn't designed to fight the Vong. To compensate for lower numbers, the Rebellion focused on hit and run tactics, and on smaller, mobile forces for quick, fast raids. When that is the main naval power, it isn't going to be able to maintain planets. On the offensive, it can work, but as a defensive tactic, the fleets just weren't equipped properly to deal with the Vong.

 

Going back to the original topic, I would have been pleased if, after the whole Caamas Document crisis, the New Republic had just formally declared itself to be the Second Galactic Republic or just "The Republic" for short. Being called "New" while the government's claim over Coruscant and other parts of the galaxy might be necessary, but once the Empire it removed from power is even willing to acknowledge it, there's no reason to keep calling it "New." Reestablish the continuity of the original Republic and then get to governin'.

Also, what was there about being a Republic that wouldn't have allowed for stronger ties between the Empire and Hapes? They could have just said "Here, let's sign a mutual defense treaty and go fight some Vong." It could even have been the Treaty of Anaxes, which would have tied in perfectly with the later Legacy continuity. I don't see how a name change was really all that necessary.

And calling the government "the Alliance" just makes me think of the old Rebel Alliance. I know they founded the new government, but they're not an insurgency anymore. A government called the Republic doesn't have to be as ineffectual as the Old one became.

 

The GA is supposed to be more like NATO than anything else. Its first principles are as a military alliance of the many varied states. That's why its an alliance. At least in theory the various allied states that make up the GA have internal autonomy regarding their operations so long as they contribute militarily to the GA security forces.

By the way, the GA is not composed of the remnants of the New Republic, the Empire, and Hapes alone. Though they are rarely talked about the galaxy includes a large number of other, more or less independent factions. The Hutts are probably the largest, but there's many more. A few of the top of my head: the Chiss, the Corporate Sector, the Epicanthix, the Kobok, the Kathol Republic, the Trianii, the various 'Allied Regions' mentioned in the Essential Atlas and no doubt many more that we haven't even heard of. These are mostly small, Outer Rim affairs of limited power, but they are independent states. The GA was designed to include all of these groups, many of whom had no interest in participating in representative democracy, to join together for mutual galactic defense.

 

Thats not what the authors have written about it go to the wookiepedia page, that more describes the New Republic, the Galactic Alliance is described as a Federal Republic, that is what the United States is, The reason for the recent Civil War is that the GA, was becoming a powerful Federal Government, like the Empire was. There is a whole discussion about this on the wookeipedia talk page for the Galactic Alliance, what your saying makes more sense but the authors wrote something completely different. The GA is not simply an Alliance its a Federal Government.

 

The USSR is definitely an interesting (and often horrific) example of rapid industrialization. In fact, you know, it is a good analogue because even though they drove the Wehrmacht back, the cost in lives was staggering.

 

That applies to the former New Republic portions of the GA, and presumably the systems is subsequently liberated from the Vong. It does not apply to the other autonomous governments that joined the GA.

The GA is effectively two different things. One, it is a pan-governmental alliance of multiple states for military purposes, and Two, it is a federal republic governing its core territories. What those core territories are remains in nearly constant flux, as can be seen by the existence of the Confederation.

 

The problem is that the GFFA is, in reality, just the New Republic with a shiny new label, with a little more cooperation from the Imperial Remnant, the Chiss and the Hapans. That's it.
If the idea had ran with the initial concept, we would've seen various territories form out of the core New Republic - analogs of Bothan Space, perhaps, or allied regions like the Greater Kashyyyk. The Corellians should've been a major power, they have a strong cultural identity and a number of old colonies scattered across space, much less influence over their own sector and probably neighboring ones - instead, they barely have control over their own system in LOTF. It's baffling, frankly.

 

Yeah, and you think Battle Droids would have lasted against the Vong? They're weak, and would have just infuriated and motivated the Vong for being mechanical abominations. As for draftees, the galaxy has not seen major war in 1000 years, they would mostly be cannon fodder. Most of the Jedi would stand no chance, maybe only a few hundred would survive the initial onslaught and then be hunted down (with the help of the Sith). And with a demilitarized galaxy, the Vong would have gotten to Coruscant much quicker, with the Republic collapsing into even worse chaos and a state of shock (if they haven't experienced the Clone Wars or the Empire or the Rebellion). Also, the Yuuzhan Vong were ultimately defeated by appealing to their religious fears, with the coming of Zonama Sekot. But if the Vong attack before 32bby, then Sekot isn't even sentient yet.

 

Well put, Mechalich.

The reality is that the vast majority of worlds and sectors that are members of the Galactic Alliance are full fledged members. These members are incorporated in the GA's federal republican government. The are full citizens, they pay taxes, they contribute funds/ships/troops to the federal Defense Force, they elect representative to the Galactic Senate, etc.

The Imperial Remnant, Hapes, and to a lesser extent the Chiss all fall in the second category. The Legacy Era Campaign Guide did an excellent job explaining these governments, which are called "Allied Autonomous Regions". These member governments are only members of the GA in the sense that they are military allies, which makes them similar to NATO members. They govern their own affairs, they don't get senators, and they can maintain their own militaries.

It actually makes alot of sense when you read the LECG's descriptions. As governments go, the Galactic Alliance is actually structured in a good way.

The rub, of course, is that authors RARELY want to show the government working. Cause it is SOOOO much fun to show a galactic democracy fail.

Cause that is original.

--Adm. Nick

 

Considering those very same "worthless battle droids" straight up massacred 185 out of 200 Jedi Knights at Geonosis, and went on to win victory after victory against the Republic...yes, they'd do perfectly fine against the Vong. Particularly when you consider the production rates seen at Geonosis and similar places; the Vong would get buried in endless waves of droids. Furthermore, barring stupid plot devices about how "ALPHA RED WILL INFECT EVERYTHING EVEN THOUGH IT'S DESIGNED TO GO AFTER A SPECIES WHOSE DNA HAS VIRTUALLY NOTHING IN COMMON WITH GALACTIC SPECIES" there's no reason to assume that the Vong would have been brought down solely by Zenoma.

 

YV war caused an estimated 365 000 000 000 000 deaths, not counting YV, so yes.