The Rise and Fall of the Second Republic

It's fun to make up history... loosely based on discussions over at neu_beginning regarding the government of the New Republic...

Excerpts from Encyclopaedia Galactica, tenth edition:

SECOND CORUSCANT REPUBLIC
(redirected from New Republic)

…Successor state to the Galactic Empire of Palpatine I, and dominant galactic power in the first and second centuries after the success of the Great Rebellion. At its height, the Second Republic controlled almost seventy percent of the territories held by the First Republic, and saw a brief return to the Pax Galactic of the pre-Clone War era…

...the Calrissian Treaty saw the Second Republic abandon its claims on Neimoidian and Hutt space (See entry “New Confederacy”), paving the way for recognition of the independence of various other sectors that had refused to return to Coruscanti rule after being liberated from the Empire. Though widely criticised at the time, it is now generally accepted by historians that Calrissian’s decision to recognise the diminishing power of Coruscant was a necessary step in ensuring the continuance of Republic authority over the remaining systems…

…The Republican Doctrine, first outlined by Premier Fey’lya, made it official Republic doctrine to recognise any planetary or multi-planetary government that ruled through the consent of the governed, while denying any formal diplomatic ties with tyrannies and monarchies. Despite this, however, informal ties eventually developed between the Republic and some of the less expansionistic Imperial Principalities (See entries “Zsinj Baronies”, “Claimants to the Palpatine Dynasty”, “Collapse of the First Galactic Empire”)…

... one of the lasting legacies of the Second Republic was the foundation of the Order of the Skywalker Knights. While never formally part of the Republic, the Skywalker Order was heavily funded by the government, and tended to take a pro-Coruscant position during its first two centuries, up until the Third Endor Crisis (See entry “Ewok Crusades”). Note that the use of the term Skywalker Knight during this period is an anachronism; it was not until after the fall of the Second Republic that the Order officially adopted the name. During this period, the Skywalkers continued to use the archaic term Jedi Knight, claiming that their founder had been personally instructed by survivors of the original Jedi Order. Note that there is no historical basis for such a claim – all surviving records indicate that General Kenobi and Master Yoda perished during the final battles of the First Clone War. Even the modern Skywalker Order now admits that there is little reason to believe either of them could have survived into the Rebellion era…

…political deadlock on the issue of senate reforms led to increasing disconnect in the third and fourth centuries between Coruscant and the other systems of the Republic, the issue coming to a head when the Corellian and Calamari systems unilaterally declared independence, taking almost a third of the Republic with them. After almost two years of tensions, the Skywalker Order eventually managed to avert all out war, forcing both parties to the bargaining table. The result was a humiliating defeat for the Republic, which was eventually forced to accept the independence of the secessionists…

…in the wake of the Great Secession, senate reforms finally took place, reorganising the Republic government to better represent all its member worlds. The result was a major reduction in Coruscant’s authority over the outer systems. This, combined with the growing power of the Corellian Alliance, caused many in the capital to begin to look back on the Palpatine Empire as a golden age, when the entire galaxy had been ruled from Coruscant (See entry “Neo-Imperial Movement”) The end result of this ideology was the declaration of the Second Coruscant Empire, and the coronation of a new Emperor, who adopted the royal name “Palpatine II Organa”, in a desperate attempt to revive the glory and power of the First Empire…

…total failure of Neo-Imperial forces in the Dantooine campaign saw the Second Empire discredited almost as quickly as it had formed, and the restoration of democracy to the Coruscant Sector less than a decade later. While reactionary elements within the new Coruscant League continued to call for the restoration of Coruscanti power, their ideas gained little popular support. The rise and fall of Palpatine II had finally proved that the era of Coruscant’s supremacy were long over, and the new government eventually abandoned all formal claims to the territories of the First or Second Republics. Coruscant officially joined the Corellian Alliance as a member world six hundred and twenty three years after the death of Palpatine I, marking the end of Coruscant as a political centre…