Yeah OP needs to rewatch the movies if that’s how they remember it. The empire was Democratic in the same way that the DPRK of North Korea is democratic
IDK if we watched the same movies but Palpatine was a democratically elected senator who was then voted into the office of chancellor by a democratically elected senate and granted additional powers by said senate.
“Nicht alles was hinkt, ist ein Vergleich” as we say in German. Palpatine didn’t oust any political rivals or use militias to force them to flee the country/planet.
Palpatine secretly controlled the whole trade blockade around Naboo as well as directing Count Dooku, Darth Maul and General Grievous among many other shenanigans.
To compare it to German history: Palpatine didn’t just light the metaphorical Reichstag on fire, my Geschwisty. He used an armada of tanks assembled into a Voltron-style robot that shoots Flammenwerfer capable of turning air into fuel.
Tarkin just found out about the disbanding of the senate at the beginning of Star Wars. People on the outer rim, on the outskirts of society likely wouldn’t have heard about it for weeks, and probably from passing smugglers and cargo runners/merchants.
But he already hated the empire, and knew it was shitty. Although I’d wager anyone on the outer rim would agree whatever galactic government in power sucks due to said government basically ignoring the outer rim.
Even if Luke didn’t know anything about the Senate, Storm Troopers killing his family and burning down his house might’ve clued him in about the Empire being a little bit fashy.
Also he didn’t officially join the rebellion until he got to Yavin, after he met Princess Leia. Kinda feel like Leia would be in the loop about the Senate being dissolved.
The thing of it is that having a senate dissolved isn’t a binary position. It doesn’t happen overnight. This is something that takes years to accomplish. So truthfully the Senate died as a legislative body the day the emperor came to power. To clarify, I don’t mean when he was elected the Chancellor but when he was declared the emperor. Democratic states do not have emperors. That was the definitive end of the Galactic democracy in the universe of Star Wars.
So when Luke joined the rebellion at 16 or 18, I’m not sure which age he was, the senate had been a toothless body for as long as he had been alive and the final nail had been hammered into place at the beginning of that movie.
See, I considered that, but whereas he wouldn’t have known about it while helping Leia escape, the Rebellion probably would’ve gotten word by the time Luke is flying the mission to destroy the Death Star. And that’s probably a pretty big deal at the base.
It’s never confirmed, of course, but I imagine information travels fast within the Rebellion if they were able to steal the Death Star plans. (Edit: Especially given Bail Organa is still alive when the Senate is dissolved.)
At the point he’s actually in the Rebellion, he probably at least already knows that the Galactic Empire is done pretending it’s a democracy.
Dissolved? I beg your pardon. The Senate is still the most important cornerstone of our empire as it has always been. Being a senator grants a lot of privileges which this traitor Organa tried to exploit.
The democratically elected™ government was already dissolved by the time Luke joined the Rebellion.
Yeah OP needs to rewatch the movies if that’s how they remember it. The empire was Democratic in the same way that the DPRK of North Korea is democratic
IDK if we watched the same movies but Palpatine was a democratically elected senator who was then voted into the office of chancellor by a democratically elected senate and granted additional powers by said senate.
The second the meaningful voting stops, you stop being a democracy. Simple as.
This discussion is heavily based on how you define “democracy”
“Nicht alles was hinkt, ist ein Vergleich” as we say in German. Palpatine didn’t oust any political rivals or use militias to force them to flee the country/planet.
Did you forget about order 66?
Order 66 would fall under the emergency powers the Senate granted to him.
It’s possible the emergency powers bill was written by a complete idiot.
Palpatine secretly controlled the whole trade blockade around Naboo as well as directing Count Dooku, Darth Maul and General Grievous among many other shenanigans.
To compare it to German history: Palpatine didn’t just light the metaphorical Reichstag on fire, my Geschwisty. He used an armada of tanks assembled into a Voltron-style robot that shoots Flammenwerfer capable of turning air into fuel.
I really wish this was in the prequels.
Tarkin just found out about the disbanding of the senate at the beginning of Star Wars. People on the outer rim, on the outskirts of society likely wouldn’t have heard about it for weeks, and probably from passing smugglers and cargo runners/merchants.
But he already hated the empire, and knew it was shitty. Although I’d wager anyone on the outer rim would agree whatever galactic government in power sucks due to said government basically ignoring the outer rim.
Even if Luke didn’t know anything about the Senate, Storm Troopers killing his family and burning down his house might’ve clued him in about the Empire being a little bit fashy.
Also he didn’t officially join the rebellion until he got to Yavin, after he met Princess Leia. Kinda feel like Leia would be in the loop about the Senate being dissolved.
The thing of it is that having a senate dissolved isn’t a binary position. It doesn’t happen overnight. This is something that takes years to accomplish. So truthfully the Senate died as a legislative body the day the emperor came to power. To clarify, I don’t mean when he was elected the Chancellor but when he was declared the emperor. Democratic states do not have emperors. That was the definitive end of the Galactic democracy in the universe of Star Wars.
So when Luke joined the rebellion at 16 or 18, I’m not sure which age he was, the senate had been a toothless body for as long as he had been alive and the final nail had been hammered into place at the beginning of that movie.
Democracy had been dead since 19 BBY and everybody knew it.
See, I considered that, but whereas he wouldn’t have known about it while helping Leia escape, the Rebellion probably would’ve gotten word by the time Luke is flying the mission to destroy the Death Star. And that’s probably a pretty big deal at the base.
It’s never confirmed, of course, but I imagine information travels fast within the Rebellion if they were able to steal the Death Star plans. (Edit: Especially given Bail Organa is still alive when the Senate is dissolved.)
At the point he’s actually in the Rebellion, he probably at least already knows that the Galactic Empire is done pretending it’s a democracy.
Dissolved? I beg your pardon. The Senate is still the most important cornerstone of our empire as it has always been. Being a senator grants a lot of privileges which this traitor Organa tried to exploit.
And how will the Emperor maintain control without the bureaucracy?