New Republic

"All this suffering, upon the billions of lives lost to a fight that we endured to hold up, are not lost to us after all. They died for what they believed to be right. To be worth fighting. And this is what they fought and perished for. ―Hera Syndulla"

The New Republic, also known simply as the Republic or Second Galactic Republic, is a democratic galactic government that serves as the successor and restoration to the First Galactic Republic and the legal galactic political authority after it, previously organized into the Alliance to Restore the Republic, had formally defeated the Galactic Empire in the Galactic Civil War in 9 ABY following the signing of the Galactic Concordance and Pellaeon-Gavrimson Treaty. The Republic emulated the structure of its predecessor, being composed of various member worlds spread across the galaxy represented in the newly-restored Galactic Senate and the formal executive office being those of the Chancellor. Instead of affixing its capital to Coruscant solely, the galaxy's historical seat of government, it would only host the Chancellary, while the Senate and Court of Justice are seated on Chandrila and the headquarters of New Republic High Command on Hosnian Prime, all cosmopolitan worlds of the Core region.

With the death of Emperor Palpatine at the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY and the apparent fragmentation of the Galactic Empire, the Rebel Alliance fulfilled its madate to its member worlds and reorganized itself into the New Republic by 5 ABY. Modelled on the principles and structure of its historical predecessor, the Republic strove to end Imperial hegemony over the Galaxy and bring about a return to democracy and peace. The Republic eventually ultimately won the civil war, after the Battle of Coruscant, it offically declared its authority and sovereignty and drove the Empire to capitulate and seek for a ceasefire, ultimately culminating in the signing of the peace treaties that ended the war and emnities between both factions.

With the war concluded at last, the Imperial Remnant heavily demilitarized and supervised and the remaining Imperial forces fragmented into squabbling warlords and regents, the New Republic brought about a new era of the galaxy. While it ended its emergency war policies, it retained its armed forces, which was over time modernized and distributed to accompany its role as a galactic authority. It largely concentrated on reconstrution programs of worlds ravaged by the war and undermining left-over Imperial propaganda in hopes of reversing Palpatine's New Order during the age of the Empire.

Its policies were shaped by a desire of pacifism and peace that would solidify the Galactic status quo as a time of peace and prosperity for as many as feasable. Relations with the Imperial Remnant remained strained however, but the inauguration of Tira Bashorye as its Head of State in 15 ABY saw the introduction to a series of reforms that deeply improved the Empire's personal rights and freedoms. Seeing this development as a positive sign, the New Republic sought an introduction of formal relations and its borders opening, despite a reluctant minority in the Senate still suspecting a ploy by the Empire.

Government structure
Main articles: Galactic Senate, Chancellor of the New Republic

The New Republic is structured after its historical and idealistic predecessor, the Galactic Republic, with a basic composition of an executive, legislative and judicial branch.

Despite droppoing the "Supreme" from its original title, the office of Chancellor still held the emergency powers granted to Sheev Palpatine during his tenure in the First Republic's last years via the Charter of the Chancellor, a document bestowed by the new Galactic Senate that enabled the Chancellor of the New Republic to serve as the Senate's leader. To prevent further abuses of the office's powers, first Chancellor Mon Mothma largely gave up these emergency powers, in return it would still hold authority over matters of the state budget and economic affairs for example. Though the Chancellor submits to the will of the Senate, the post still dictates certain policies regulated and supervised by the independently elected members of the Court of Justice.

The reestablished Galactic Senate is the principal governing body of the New Republic, being composed of the Republic's member world from across the galaxy, with representatives of each planet being chosen by popular vote of the people. The Senate oversees specialised committees such as the Committee for Imperial Reallocation, Committee of Trade and Goods, Committee of Popular Rights and the Senate Intelligence Committee.

The New Republic has the General Ministry composed of ministers, who are senators proposed by the Chancellor but must be approved by the Senate. These individuals counsel the Chancellor on certain matters and oversee the daily function of their ministries, such as the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Customs, Ministry of the People and Ministry of the Planets.

Politics
Main articles: Centrists and Populists

With the signing of the Galactic Concordance on Chandrila and the Pellaeon-Gavrimson Treaty on Bastion, the New Republic secured both victory and peace. Several changes were made to the political process to ensure mistakes of the Old Republic were not repeated. The New Republic, in accordance with its humanitarian values prohibited torture as part of the concordance, however the divisive topic on the treatment of former Imperials would occupy much heated debate. Some wished to execute and punish those responsible for war crimes, while others were dismayed at the thought of succumbing to the barbarities of the former regime, and emulating what they had fought so hard against. Ultimately, the fact that billions of individuals had participated in the Empire—many of them against their wishes—cooler heads prevailed, allowing for leniency in sentences and the invitation of former Imperial governors to the New Republic. Likewise, civilian and military personnel were offered a new life within the annals of the nascent Republic.

n order to gain the support of disaffected worlds and prevent friction that had occurred during the Old Republic and later the Empire, the New Republic government chose to not settle down on Coruscant entirely. Instead, its main government offices were seated on multiple worlds, those additionally being Chandrila and Hosnian Prime. Despite its outward appearance of unity, the Senate was divided into two feuding factions, the Populists, which believed that almost all authority should reside in individual member worlds, and the Centrists, who supported a stronger central government. The two factions frequently squabbled over policies and government spending, creating an atmosphere of political deadlock and distrust in the Senate. As a result, the Republic was unable to carry out several of its functions from 10 ABY to 20 ABY including preventing the resurgence of organized crime, enforcing financial regulations, and patrolling the shipping lanes. The election of Leia Organa as Chancellor in 20 ABY however greatly improved relations in the Senate, as she worked as an intermediate and compromise between both factions.

Foreign policy
The New Republic evolved from the Alliance to Restore the Republic to become the new galactic government. During the last stages of the Galactic Civil War, the New Republic's ranks were swelled by numerous defecting worlds and systems. In the face of the Republic's relentless military advances against the Galactic Empire, numerous Imperial warlords and leaders surrendered or sued for peace, while it alienated and radicalized others in the Mid and Outer Rim. Following the Battle of Jakku and Battle of Coruscant, the Republic signed the Galactic Concordance with the Galactic Empire, which imposed strict disarmament treaties and punishing reparations that limited it ability to wage war and ordered the Empire to dissolved. While a provisional government—led by Grand Vizier Mas Amedda after the Empire ceded its capital to the Republic—was installed on Coruscant, the administration was placed under the jurisdiction of New Republic overseers. After the Imperial Remnant was pressured into capitulation by Hera Syndulla and Tira Bashorye, the Pellaeon-Gavrimson Treaty ended the last remaining fighting of the civil war and opened both parties to recognize their sovereignties and reopen economic, political and cultural ties.

About sixteen years after the Battle of Endor, the New Republic believed that the remnants of the "Old Empire" no longer posed a threat, with the Imperial Remnant and the New Republic in a peaceful coexistance, and thus turned its attention to reshaping galactic politics. Chancellor Lanever Villecham for example favored developing closer trade relations with the Trans-Hydian Borderlands.

In addition, the New Republic also had political and trade relations with independent, non-member worlds like Ryloth. The New Republic was also known to place troubled non-member worlds like Bastatha on conditional probational advice, which allowed the Republic to observe and track activity around the planet for a certain period. The New Republic also had to contend with several other powers including the New Separatist Union, the Confederacy of Corporate Systems and the pirate state known as the Sovereign Latitudes of Maracavanya in its lesser developed and populated territories in the Outer Rim and Wild Space.

Defense
Main article: Combined Defense Forces of the New Republic The Combined Defense Forces of the New Republic were the primary military and peacekeeping force responsible for the defence of the New Republic and known to have encompassed three branches, the New Republic Defense Fleet, in addition to the New Republic Starfighter Corps, the ground-based New Republic Army, and the New Republic Special Forces. The Defense Fleet and New Republic High Command, the military's leadership, were located on Hosnian Prime. The Defense Force traced its roots from the military formations of the Rebel Alliance that fought against the Galactic Empire, with the newly established New Republic Defense Force seeing extensive action against the remnants of the Empire after the Battle of Endor. Some of the peacetime functions of the New Republic fleet included enforcing financial regulations and conducting comprehensive patrols of Galactic shipping lanes in order to protect the galaxy from large-scale organized crime syndicates and escorting Senators on government business. The Republic navy was the largest defense force in the galaxy, it was significantly reduced in numbers following its negotiations with the Imperial Remnant; however, the introduction of more modern and stream-lined models such as the Nebula-class Star Destroyer made the New Republic Defense Fleet the most advanced and capable naval force in the Galaxy, having enough resources to defend the entire galaxy in peacetime. The military also hosted numerous Republic academies for training and development.