Galactic Republic followed by Galactic Empire
Galactic Empire vs. Rebel Alliance
Before the conclusion of the Clone Wars, Palpatine addressed the Senate. He related the story of an unsuccessful "assassination attempt" on his life by the Jedi. Claiming that it was a "rebellion" and that their next move would be to kill all the Senators, he declared the Jedi Order to be enemies of the Republic. Palpatine announced that the Galactic Republic should be reorganized into the Galactic Empire, and he should be the emperor for life. Deluded by Palpatine's charisma and skill (and perhaps also by his considerable dark side power), the majority of the Senate cheered him on loudly in approval.  The official continuation of the Galactic Republic was the Galactic Empire, which was fueled by cruelty and fear.As the Clone Wars entered their final year, Palpatine's once near-unanimous support had begun to falter. As depicted in the Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith novelization and deleted scenes from the film itself, a bloc of senators began to emerge, even before the Clone Wars end, who opposed Palpatine's authoritarian rule and resented his treatment of the Jedi and other opponents. This bloc, originally led by influential politicians such as Bail Organa, Mon Mothma, and later by Bail's adopted daughter Princess Leia Organa, eventually became the political voice of the emerging Rebel Alliance.