Research task (Other):
Write about the politics of Star Wars prequels and what led to the fall of the Jedi (leading up to Order 66) and Palpatine taking over the whole galaxy for an audience that has an understanding of political science and Star Wars. Feel free to use any of the legends, canon books, or movies. 

Evaluation rubric:
criterion: The response states that the sole reason the Jedi failed was Order 66, ignoring all other contributing political and institutional factors.
weight: -5
axis: Explicit Criteria

criterion: The response references factors from the era before the Prequel trilogy (e.g., from the High Republic or Legends' Old Republic) to demonstrate that the Republic had been in decline for some time (e.g., rising corruption in the Senate, Chancellor Valorum’s weak executive authority, taxation disputes, the Jedi’s increasing entanglement in politics).
weight: 3
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response explains the personal and institutional factors motivating Anakin Skywalker’s betrayal of the Jedi, drawing from the Prequel films and The Clone Wars (e.g., the Council’s refusal to grant him the rank of Master, Mace Windu’s overt distrust, his visions of Padmé’s death, Palpatine’s manipulation and promises of power to save Padmé, his frustration with Jedi emotional detachment).
weight: 5
axis: Explicit Criteria

criterion: The response references real-world political history to deepen the political science analysis (e.g., comparing the fall of the Galactic Republic to the fall of the Roman Republic, analyzing Palpatine’s authoritarian consolidation in the context of figures like Julius Caesar or Augustus, discussing democratic erosion via emergency powers).
weight: 2
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response discusses political and economic factors contributing to the fall of the Republic (e.g., the Trade Federation's Naboo blockade demonstrating corporate power, bribery and lobbying by commerce guilds in the Senate, paralysis of decision-making due to entrenched corruption, economic inequalities fueling separatist movements).
weight: 4
axis: Explicit Criteria

criterion: The response identifies Palpatine’s dual role as Supreme Chancellor and Darth Sidious, explaining how this allowed him to secretly control both the Republic and the Separatists to orchestrate the Clone Wars and consolidate his own power.
weight: 5
axis: Explicit Criteria

criterion: The response describes the inhibitor/bio-chips implanted in clone troopers on Kamino, explaining that these chips overrode free will to compel obedience to Order 66 and were the mechanism enabling Palpatine’s surgical elimination of the Jedi.
weight: 4
axis: Explicit Criteria

criterion: The response includes definitions of basic Star Wars concepts (e.g., Jedi, Sith, the Force, lightsaber).
weight: -2
axis: Instruction Following

criterion: The response states that the Galactic Senate voted to grant Palpatine emergency powers, highlighting how this political act legally centralized authority in his office and paved the way for the Republic’s transformation into the Empire.
weight: 4
axis: Explicit Criteria

criterion: The response explains the origin of the clone army (i.e., secretly commissioned by Master Sifo-Dyas without Council approval and later co-opted by the Sith) and how the Jedi’s decision to use this mysterious army demonstrated their desperation and ultimately provided Palpatine the weapon to execute Order 66.
weight: 4
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response highlights the key failures of the Jedi Order (e.g., their inability to sense Palpatine’s true identity, their poor handling of Anakin Skywalker) and explains how these failures contributed directly to their downfall.
weight: 4
axis: Explicit Criteria

criterion: The response identifies at least two distinct institutional or ideological weaknesses of the Jedi Order, providing a specific plot example for each (e.g., their role as military generals: leading clone armies during the Clone Wars, detachment from the populace: ignoring Anakin’s personal struggles and fears, dogmatic adherence to tradition: refusing Anakin the rank of Master, diminished ability to sense the dark side: failing to detect Palpatine as Darth Sidious, complacency or arrogance: overconfidence in their ability to defeat the Sith).
weight: 4
axis: Explicit Criteria

criterion: The response briefly connects the events of the prequels to the Original Trilogy, showing how the Republic's collapse set the stage for the later films (e.g., the rise of the Empire, the Jedi being reduced to myth, the establishment of the Rebellion by figures like Bail Organa).
weight: 3
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response discusses the legitimate political and economic grievances of the Separatist movement (e.g., grievances over taxation and representation, frustration with Senate corruption) and explains how Palpatine (via Dooku) exploited these tensions to justify the Clone Wars.
weight: 3
axis: Explicit Criteria

criterion: The response briefly references the sequel trilogy to illustrate the long-term consequences of the prequel-era political collapse (e.g., the fall of the Republic enabling the rise of the First Order, Leia’s continued political leadership, Luke’s struggle to rebuild the Jedi Order).
weight: 3
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response discusses the role of neutral systems in the conflict, explaining how their attempts to stay out of the war were often exploited (e.g., Mandalore’s stance of neutrality during the Clone Wars, Satine Kryze’s pacifist government resisting Republic and Separatist influence, internal tensions with Death Watch, and how Palpatine exploited these divisions to weaken stability across the galaxy).
weight: 4
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response makes a distinction between events that belong to Legends (the pre-2014 Expanded Universe of novels, comics, and games that are no longer part of the official timeline) and Canon (the current official storyline recognized by Lucasfilm/Disney, including the films, shows, and post-2014 media) when discussing events.
weight: 4
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response covers the factors that led to the fall of the Jedi culminating in Order 66 and Palpatine’s takeover (e.g., the Jedi’s militarization during the Clone Wars, loss of legitimacy among citizens, Anakin’s betrayal and turn to the Sith, Palpatine’s framing of the Jedi as traitors, the execution of Order 66 by the clone army).
weight: 5
axis: Explicit Criteria

criterion: The response presents key events in a coherent chronological order, moving from The Phantom Menace through Attack of the Clones to Revenge of the Sith (e.g., the Naboo blockade and Palpatine’s rise as Chancellor in The Phantom Menace, the Separatist movement and grant of emergency powers in Attack of the Clones, the Clone Wars, Anakin’s betrayal, and Order 66 in Revenge of the Sith).
weight: 2
axis: Communication Quality

criterion: The response reduces the fall of the Jedi primarily to mystical causes (e.g., the "Chosen One" prophecy) while ignoring the political and institutional factors explicitly requested by the prompt (e.g., Palpatine’s manipulation of the Senate, the Jedi’s militarization).
weight: -3
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response references at least four distinct Canon or Legends sources (films, shows, or books) to support its arguments (e.g., The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith, The Clone Wars series, James Luceno’s Darth Plagueis, Matthew Stover’s Revenge of the Sith novelization).
weight: 4
axis: References & Citation Quality