Kind of a remake of a traditional artwork I did for the same prompt for a different challenge years ago: a sort of propaganda poster featuring spaceships :)
My (emphasis on my please don’t give me shit for this, take it or leave it it’s just what I will be using for Of Sun and Moon) initial rework of the Republic Senate for the purpose of it making sense in my fic.
It’s world-buildy, it’s long. It’s heavily influenced in part by the US Senate because that’s what I know and seems to be where part of the roots lie for it.
Thank you @shortmandown for reading through this and to ALL the other people I crawled to for help with this (there’s like three of you guys but I won’t tag you out of the kindness of my heart xD)
Hopefully below the cut. Enjoy, if you wish to read it
The Republic
Alliances between several planets. In theory stands for democracy, justice, and freedom and wants to spread democracy throughout the galaxy. This, however, has led to a fixation on eliminating the Empire in a multi-year (multi-decade, multi-century...just a long, long time) war that culminated in a need for eradication after the Sacking of Coruscant. It wants to restore its former greatness and most recent years of government have chosen an ongoing war with the Empire as the way to do that, stating that they need to eliminate the Sith Empire before they can progress again. Propaganda and the numerous victories in the ongoing war maintain the overall attitude of complacency and optimism for the war, though the younger generations that were either young or not yet born during the SoC are starting to question the legitimacy of this ongoing war. The Republic is still in a state of rebuilding after the SoC and is nowhere near its once great standing.
The Senate:
The Senate is split into seven sections, each coalition representing a selection of ~142 planets average (should all regions be the same, they are not) in that region. In each coalition, there is at least one representative from each planet up to a max number of fifty seats in the representative house based on the population of that planet. From those representatives five senators are elected to represent the planets, allowing ~28 senators per coalition. Therefore, in the Senate, there are 200 senators total serving at one time.
**NONE of these planets in a region are representative of a major corporation. Planets only allowed to send representatives. In areas where major corporations sit the representatives(s) elected work in favor of a mega-corporation and there is no way to deny that as they are “elected” fairly. Investigation and action will only be taken if there is probable cause to suspect foul play.
A senator can serve for six years at one time and can serve a Republic Law based two terms back to back, but since the government overturns after the Treaty of Coruscant most senators have served well above those two terms. Senators can be removed from their position if found guilty of any of the numerous punishable-Republic crimes, though it is a long process and most senators are able to weasel their way out with only a harsh warning and a temporary ban.
Each senator has an Associated Planetary Representative (APR) elected from the coalition’s house of representatives and acts as a “Junior Senator”. Most are chosen with the mentality that they will be the ones to take the place of their superior senator when they step down. The APRs cannot vote, but they do try to represent political, religious, ethnic, or other minorities on the side of their sector. Their main duty is to stand in for their superior should they be indisposed and unable to make important meetings or had to take leave. Should the latter occur then there would be a vote to allow them to act as the standing senator.
**APRs have been known to purposefully target their senators to take their place. The success rate of these attempts are shockingly low as any suspicion is taken seriously and an investigation ensues.
The seven coalitions act as a separate entity from planetary governments, as does the Republic Senate. Planetary governments are almost entirely removed from the galactic governments except for the election of their representatives, as to keep the focus on galactic issues instead of planetary.
Election of representatives varies from planet to planet and relies on the way their government works. For example. democratic planets will elect their senators through campaigns and the votes of the people, while monarchy based governments (or any non-democratic governments) tend to send diplomatic representatives of the state chosen by those in charge. Smaller planets, especially in the Outer Rim have not always been able to elect their officials or get them to the official coalition headquarters, usually located on the major planet in the system (ie: the Deep Core Coalition would be on Coruscant, the Core Coalition on Alderaan.). In the past, the coalition has worked to get that representative at least holo’d in, though post-Treaty of Coruscant that initiative has fallen behind and it is more common as of the Yavin Coalition to simply let those planets fall to the wayside. As a result, the Outer Rim Coalition is grossly under numbered and no longer has much power in the standing of the Senate.
The head of the entire Galactic Senate is the Supreme Chancellor. The Supreme Chancellor acts as a tiebreaker in tied votes, offers guidance and is a figurehead, and mediates the meetings, but overall does not hold much sway in the voting process. They are given a four-year term and can only serve one term. Therefore when the Supreme Chancellor seat turns over, the Senate will not be turning over at the same time. The SC can propose candidates for military officials, as the Republic Military is closely intertwined with the governmental control, however, they cannot elect those officials. Military officials are elected through a vote of the Senate, and it must be a majority. Reason to be removed from office are as followed: serving a maximum number of years, a vote of no-confidence by the Senate (must be the majority and there must be a probable cause), and if they commit and are found guilty of a high tier crime punishable by Republic Law.
**Senators are known to do some negotiating in backroom deals to create alliances that strengthen their position on important issues; a matter that picked up tenfold once the Yavin Coalition started to form.
The State of the Galactic Senate:
As of the Coalition of Yavin IV and prior/onward the Republic Senate has been falling steadily to corruption. The smallest of the seven representative groups, the Outer Rim has been slowly shunted to the side enough that some worlds have seceded entirely from the Republic and fallen into Hutt Control. The Expansion Region and Mid Rim are close to doing the same, encroached on by both the Empire’s advances and the poor treatment by the Republic. The Deep Core and Core regions remain the strongest and most powerful of the sectors, holding the most sway in voted on matters. On top of worlds, seceding mega-corporations such as Czerka Corporation, Draay Trust, Adascorp, and CEC (to an extent, in Corellia’s representative pool) have infiltrated the interests of the Senate, shifting it from a goal to represent and better the people to instead better their own interests.
The Coalitions:
The seven coalitions are as followed;
Deep Core: Coruscant is the largest planet in this sector, representing the smallest number of planets with the highest amount of representatives possible. Coruscant holds the maximum number of fifty-seats in the representative house. Tython holds a small number of representatives, being a fairly sparse planet holding mostly Jedi that for many years did not wish to root themselves in politics. This changed post-ToC, with Tython holding more representatives than before. This coalition is the strongest and largest of the seven by the time OSaM is occurring. Coruscant is the site of the headquarters, located in the Senate District. The Deep Core Coalition is set on expanding the Republic and maintaining its glory, trying to expand rights to all species and is by far the most liberal of the coalition attempts.
**Glory defined as reinstating the Golden Age of the Republic, with extensive expansionism and the minimizing of the Empire and its “threat” to galactic peace. Though from coalition to coalition and senator to senator the definition of glory has shifted and mutated and as the Eternal Empire rises it is near impossible for everyone to see eye to eye.
Core: Corellia and Alderaan are the major planets in this sector, with Alderaan’s representatives standing for each of the major houses and sent by the royal houses. Corellia’s representative election varies from year to year in its ever-shifting government and prior to the Empire’s siege was majorly influenced by the CEC company. However, after the Empire’s attack and subsequential rebellion, it has lost almost all power in the coalition and must wait for the next senatorial election to regain its prior power if it can. The Core Coalition has been known to side with the Deep Core Coalition on the matters of restoring the Republic and rebuilding after the Sacking of Coruscant, however it is known to favor business ideals and trade above the expansion of rights, most likely due to the influence of its major planets.
Colonies: Balmorra would be the major planet in this coalition (so far as swtor is concerned), however, the entire coalition has been knocked off balance by the ongoing war on Balmorra, eventually won by the Republic but not before immense damages were taken and setbacks were piled on. However, the coalition as a whole is representative of a band of largely wealthy planets with booming industrial worlds, trade centers, and garden worlds. They are the third largest coalition in number, with densely populated planets. They are a known to ally with the Core Coalition for their emphasis on trade and business, as well as wealth.
Inner Rim: One of the smaller coalitions, the Inner Rim is neither strongly allied with the Outer Rim or the Core/Deep Core. Many of the planets in the Inner Rim are either undeclared in allegiance to the Republic or Empire, making its number of planets one of the most lacking. The Inner Rim as a whole tends to look down on the Outer Rim inhabitants, and yet the Deep Core, Core, and Colonies have looked down on them. The headquarters of this coalition are located on Manaan, though since the planet has remained questionably neutral it's debatable on whether or not that should be changed. This coalition has a tendency to ally itself with business and trade for its priority, always trying to reinvigorate declining wealth after the Great Sith War. By the time of the Eternal Empire, the Inner Rim has all but fallen out of importance.
Mid Rim: The Mid Rim Coalition is one of the smaller branches, due to territory that had to be relinquished to the Empire in the ToC. It is also one of the most unstable, constantly caught between planets falling to the Empire or being invaded for more territory during the war. Ord Mantell is the standing head location, however the Separatist rebellion caused significant chaos and it fell out of standing in the Senate, leaving its senators floundering. Being one of the less industrialized groupings of planets it tends to ally with the Deep Core’s efforts to promote rights and social change across the galaxy, unable to offer much to the Core or other business and trade coalitions for support.
Expansion Region: One of the most, if not the most disrespected of all the Coalitions, and also one of the smallest. Rampant tapping by Corellia and Duros during the Great Manifest Period left many planets impoverished, and even by the current time in-universe, there are several representatives that are unable to make it off planet. Their inclusion and transport have all but vanished in recent years, leaving the Expansion Region Coalition a silent bystander in the greater Senate.
Outer Rim: An area made up of neutral, Empire, or otherwise aligned planets the Outer Rim is the smallest coalition out of the seven. Headquartered in Belsavis it is the one that has been shoved to the wayside the most alongside the Expansion Region Coalition in recent years. Many planets over the years have fallen out of the coalition entirely and it remains one of the least respected in the Senate. Their main goal is to try and get recognition, relief, and resources from the Senate to better support their people but it has gone largely unheard.
