I was inspired to write this note by fragment of this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0jkSZZW7rk&index=22&list=WL
1:00:59 – 1:11:52
In order to gain and sustain control
over a state, the dictator often needs an army. In Star Wars, at the
beginning of new trilogy, there was no army on the scale of the whole
Republic – separate systems and great companies, like Trade
Federation, cared about their own safety. In the situation of crisis,
Jedi Knights were summoned. Jedi Order was an institution of
wizard-like monks skilled in both fighting and diplomacy. Chancellor
Palpatine knew Jedi would not serve his purpose so he needed to get
rid of the Jedi and replace them with an army.
He prepared a plan of achieving it a
long time before it was set in motion. He managed to manipulate one
of Jedi Masters into creating in secret an army of clones for the
Republic and then, he assured the Jedi Master is killed, so the army
stays secret. But still, even as the Chancellor, he could not simply
give clones an order to terminate all the Jedi and serve him only. He
needed more power and some justification of his actions in order to
achieve his goal.
In "Attack of the Clones", a
Separatists movement is created. It was secretly inspired by
Chancellor Palpatine himself. It is common in the history, that
dictators gain their special powers during some crisis. And so it is
at this case. Two attempts on the life of one of the senators and
discovery that Separatists are preparing an army to threaten the
Republic and make it fulfill their demands was such a crisis.
When the Jedi discovered the army of
clones, they had means of defending the Republic. The set up for the
war was done. In order to imply the clone army as the army of the
Republic, Chancellor Palpatine was given special powers by the Senate
for the first time. He did it and The Clone Wars began. Just after
the first battle, where Jedi fought alongside with clones, Chancellor
proposed them to became commanders of the army as they were the only
ones skilled in fighting that Republic had. Thanks to that, some Jedi
died during the war and the attention of the media was focused on the
Order, not on the chancellor who was gaining more and more power
during those three years of warfare.
In “Revange of the Sith”,
Chancellor conducts his plan. He reveals his true identity to one of
the Jedi and when they come to execute him, he manages to survive and
then he had an evidence of Jedi treason. He used it to give the clone
army all over the galaxy to execute all Jedi and than he uses his
emergency powers to reorganize the Republic into the Empire.
