I love Star Wars and I grew up watching Clone Wars, but what is the Confederacy? It’s bugging me.

I might be missing something. Across the comics, books and video games, there are probably some good explanations. I don’t know. But based on what I’ve seen in the films and TV shows, and what I’ve read on Wookieepedia, the Confederacy of Independent Systems doesn’t make any sense.

The basic premise of the Clone Wars is that due to Republic corruption (and also the Sith’s manipulation), a group of separatists have formed a rival state and gone to war with the Republic. In the broad strokes, that’s logical and I get it. The Republic is corrupt and vacant and it allows evil corporations to run amok. The peripheral star systems get fed up of being exploited; so they secede, band together and form the Confederacy. I’m following so far. But some stuff doesn’t add up. For one thing, the films and TV shows present the Republic (and its army of de-facto slave soldiers) as the good guys, when it seems that the Separatists have a pretty good point. Sure enough, it’s often said in fan communities that the Separatists are the real good guys – though the response often comes, that the Separatists are conquering planets and forcing them to join their Confederacy. This would seem to go against the Confederacy’s alleged mission statement (independence and freedom and all that) and is itself a source of minor confusion. Though this is easily explained as an instance of self-serving political hypocrisy enhanced by Sith machinations.

What I really don’t get, is why the Confederacy allows evil mega corporations – a big part of their grievance with the Republic – to run the Confederacy. The Separatist Parliament claims, in an episode of Clone Wars, that they’re not controlled by corporations. But the Separatist Council, the Confederacy’s executive body, is literally a council of Corporations. Even the Trade Federation, which kicked off the saga by invading and subjugating Naboo, has a seat on the council (presumably explaining Naboo’s opposition to the Separatists). Federation Viceroy Nute Gunray even becomes the Separatist head of state at one point. And the Confederacy doesn’t think it’s run by corporations? Why are they okay with this? Sith manipulation aside, that’s quite a lot of cognitive dissonance.

My confusion gets worse. In the Clone Wars Onderon arc, the Republic trains a group of Onderon rebels to oppose their local Separatist ruler (this arc introduces Saw Gerrera). It’s a great batch of episodes, but two issues appear. First, the Republic claims that it can’t openly topple or oppose a legitimate government. But the government in question, Onderon, is part of the Confederacy – with representation in the Separatist Parliament – meaning that the Republic is at war with Onderon. So why can’t they oppose it? I would maybe hazard that Onderon seceded legally and then chose not to join the Confederacy (they suggest as much in the episodes). Indeed, the Republic wouldn’t want to be seen attacking an independent and neutral planet, even if it is a bit too chummy with the Separatists. But this is made untenable by another episode, which depicts Onderon senator Mina Bonteri as a keen supporter of both the Confederacy and Dooku alike. As before, Onderon has a seat in the Separatist Parliament – they are a member world! Second, the former king of Onderon tells Saw Gerrera that he was asked to choose between the Republic and the Confederacy and ultimately chose neither. This results in a separatist-backed coup (demonstrating that they are expansionist bad guys) and ultimately puts Mina Bonteri in an out-of-character bad light. Was she involved in the coup or just resigned to it? It would certainly make the former King’s respect for her seem misplaced. Regardless, the King also states that both factions are corrupt, a useful clue to the Confederacy’s nature.

Onderon’s fate may be tied to the somewhat unexplored Council of Neutral Systems. An alliance of around 1500 neutral star systems led by Mandalore (during its pacifist era). All the available evidence suggests that the Confederacy of Independent Systems is corrupt, expansionist and controlled by corporations. The Onderon arc also implies that the Republic is willing to allow secession – hence their reluctance to attack it. Perhaps the Council of Neutral Systems was formed by the newly independent planets who wished to avoid compulsory membership in the Confederacy, as per Onderon’s experience (and presumably others). They’ve teamed up to avoid annexation by the Confederacy and remain neutral. Or maybe it’s just a faction in the Senate, I don’t know.

In short, the Republic appears content with legal secession and doesn’t mind (at least not legally) when independent worlds do business with the Confederacy. It also doesn’t object, seemingly, to those legally independent worlds having representation in the Separatist Parliament – with which it’s at war. The Confederacy, for its part, is corrupt and under corporate leadership and blind to that fact. It also doesn’t mind being run by the same corporations that once exploited its members and it’s openly expansionist despite being founded on the basis of independence. Hence my confusion.

There’s probably an explanation for all this. But short of having it, the following theory occurred to me whilst writing. Secession is legal under Republic law and most worlds did secede peacefully and only some joined the Separatists. Moreover, there are multiple tiers to the Confederacy. First, there’s the hardcore Separatist Alliance, which is dominated by corporate splinter groups, and is determined to destroy the Republic. Its stated reason for this is to protect Confederate independence and end the Republic’s tyranny (its actual reasons probably being deregulation or something). Then there’s a second tier which is associated with the Separatist Alliance but is actually a separate entity that merely facilitates the voluntary cooperation of independent worlds, nominally similar to the UN or EU (hence why it’s a Confederacy of Independent Systems and not a federation or alliance). In practice, the Separatist Alliance often enforces membership of the Confederacy and privately bribes and intimidates the relevant senators, but this setup may resolve some issues. The Republic is at war with the Separatist Alliance, it is not at war with many the independent worlds that participate in the allegedly voluntary association that is the Confederacy (hence why they won’t attack the obviously Separatist Onderon). This would further explain why the Separatist Parliament reckons it’s beyond corporate control, despite the corporate participation in their ruling council. They don’t view the Separatist Council as a government, just an affiliated hardcore military alliance (supposedly) devoted to the same ideals. This may also allow for Bonteri’s simultaneous involvement with the Separatist Parliament and apparent distance from the Onderon coup.

Anyway, that’s the most sense I can make of it. Again, maybe I’m missing something.

-Dexter