How did the First Order get so powerful and the senate didn’t do anything or notice? Why did the rebel alliance know but no one else? Why didn’t they bring the matter to the senate?
asked Jul 25, 2023 at 12:10
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4I don't have the time or memory to write a coherent answer right now, but the gist of it is that the New Republic did know about the First Order but didn't consider them a threat until it was too late. The Mandalorian and Star Wars: Resistance both offer insights into this.– F1KrazyCommented Jul 25, 2023 at 12:16
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In addition, the Aftermath novels get into this as well.'– psubsee2003Commented Jul 25, 2023 at 15:30
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The Bloodlines novel by Claudia Gray probably answers this question. I don't remember all details but this is where Leia discovers the existence of the First Order.– NeowCommented Jul 26, 2023 at 6:30
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1 Answer
The Senate was aware of the First Order, but didn't act on it due to a combination of factors:
Leia had been personally discredited
In Canon, Leia had made the decision to hide her parentage from the public. In Bloodline, set in 28 ABY, this becomes public, causing a major political scandal and leading to Leia resigning as Senator.
The First Order had infiltrated the Senate
Memory of and allegiance to the Empire had not died out in the known galaxy. Many "Centrist" politicians in the Galactic Senate were secretly loyalists aiming to disrupt the New Republic's attempts to govern and therefore pave the way for the First Order's rise. This they achieved in [28 ABY] when the Centrist-aligned systems of the New Republic finally seceded and joined the First Order, giving the Neo-Imperials territory within the borders of the known galaxy and plunging the New Republic and First Order into a Cold War that lasted several years.
Battles that Changed the Galaxy, p206-207
The true extent of the First Order's power wasn't widely known
For over a decade before The Force Awakens, the First Order had been amassing military power in secret:
21 ABY: Funding the First Order
The First Order uses its proxy group the Amaxine warriors to covertly fund Rinnrivin Di's criminal empire, which soon expands its reach to that of the previous Hutt cartel. Billions of credits in profit are then funneled back into the First Order.
Timelines, page 271, 21 ABY
Meanwhile, they were running a propaganda campaign aimed at the wider galaxy:
First Order "freedom"
First Order propaganda surfaces, claiming that it has liberated a labor camp on the moon of Iktotch. In reality, it is a First Order camp.
Timelines, page 285, 33 ABY
While the Resistance knew about the First Order's size and scope, the Senate didn't necessarily believe them:
Evidence needed
Leia worries that the word of Resistance operatives is not enough to convince the New Republic Senate to act.
Timelines, page 291, 34 ABY
The Force Awakens's title crawl describes Leia's leadership of the Resistance as happening "with the support of the Republic", but as of later material, that seems to be only a partial truth—the Resistance was controversial within the Republic, which is why it operated separately.
