Republic

No need to note where it was or whence it came, only to know that ... it was the Republic.
::-- Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker
The Republic, officially known as the Galactic Republic, is the sovereign political entity that controls a majority of the Galaxy.
==Beginnings of the Republic==
The Republic has endured almost as long as living memory, and its foundations are shrouded in myth and legend. It is told by the Jedi Knights that once, long ago, there was a King who ruled many worlds from his seat on the city-world of Coruscant. He was strong in the Force, and he trained many strong wise Knights to protect the people of his Kingdom: and his people loved him.
But when the King was twenty years old he was slain by the treacherous hand of a dark tainted Lord, and though the Lord was defeated at last, the King had left no heir.
So each of the King's Knights swore an oath to maintain their duty, never vying for the throne or seeking conquest of men, but using their abilities to protect the people of their space. Without a King, the people were left to decide their own affairs, and Coruscant became a meeting-place for the Lords and rulers of the worlds who the King had once governed.
The devotion of the Jedi brought light and peace to every world that joined the new-born Republic, and the Republic grew until civilization was brought to every corner of the galaxy and men began to think that the days of chaos and fear had been left behind forever.
==The Historical Republic==
Time drew on, and at certain points it is difficult to say where myth ends and history begins. When the Republic had fully grown, it was organized as the largest bureaucracy in the galaxy, governed by a Senate of the Lords and leaders of member-worlds. The High Court of Coruscant settled the major legal disputes that could not be handled by the local governments of the Republic's members, and the Jedi Knights kept the peace. When war was necessary to protect the people, the Senate raised armies and navies from their own worlds and pledged them to the common cause of the people.
At its height, the Republic was idyllic: perhaps the closest thing to Utopia achieved in the history of the galaxy. The spirit of the Republic was one of light and justice, unified by the religious devotion of the Jedi.
Over the years, the light dwindled. Peace and justice were abandoned outside the borders of the Republic, and at its edges they were rarities. Perhaps it was hard for the Senators to see this because the light still shone so brightly in the Court of Coruscant; or perhaps those that did see it were the ones who became cynical and self-interested.
==The Clone Wars Republic==
However it began, the Republic has in recent times eroded. There has been no call in a hundred years for the mustering of a Republic Navy, and crime has dug its foul claws even into the Core Worlds. The Senators are now interested only in furthering themselves. The most powerful of these form coalitions of worlds, stacking their votes in the Senate and passing incomprehensible laws. In some places, the anger between member-worlds is so great that armed conflict cannot be far away.
Still, no one refuses the Court of Coruscant nor the Senate. There is a power still striving to hold the Republic's head above the water, to bring clarity and compassion to those who govern its people. It is a time of unrest, and brooding evil dwells in the hearts of powerful men and women.
==OOC Player Info==
Player characters in the Republic may be Guards, Diplomats, Lawyers, Judges, Courtiers, Merchants, Businessmen or Senators. There are also positions open within the Republic Guard and Republic Navy.
See 'news senate' for information about the Galactic Senate.
See 'news republic courts' for information about the High Courts.
See 'news republic worlds' for some of the Republic's member-worlds.
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==New Republic==
Members of the Old Republic would be shocked to find that the New Republic is a government that works and, so far, has generated remarkably little corruption. The Senate remains the primary legislative body but, unlike the Old Republic Senate, its power is subject to constitutional checks.
The Republic Constitution limits the powers of the Senate, the Jedi Order, and the Republic Defense Force. New Republic career officers have no fear of the Senate electing a corrupt or inept politician to serve as their superior. Morale is generally high in the RDF.
The Jedi Order has been integrated into the government as well. The Order may appoint up to two senators with full rights to represent its interests in the Senate. It may also appoint one of its own to High Command. Members of the Jedi Order not only act as police able to cross jurisdictional lines, they also serve as judges on tribunals alongside a representative of the Senate and a representative of the Military. 
Historians are quick to point out that the current government is still very similar to the wartime government adopted eight years after the Battle of Endor.
==Republic Member Worlds ==
Republic member-systems make up the Republic's territory. The Republic is commonly referred to as the Core even though it consists of systems in the Outer Rim as well as the Core.
*Vasatissa
Category:Factions
Category:Republic