Galactic Concordance

"In the month since the Battle of Jakku, the Empire has attempted no further large-scale offensives. Sources report all Imperial vessels within the Core and Inner Rim staying within the boundaries defined by the treaty. A few prominent members of the Provisional Senate have speculated that the New Republic's war with the remnants of the Empire has finally come to an end and that a final surrender may be imminent. However, in her address today, the chancellor warned that all planets should remain on high alert, and the New Republic Starfleet should be kept on a war footing for the foreseeable future."

- A news holo a month following the Battle of Jakku

The Galactic Concordance was a historic peace treaty signed by the New Republic and the Galactic Empire on Coruscant following the Empire's defeat at the Battle of Jakku at the end of the Galactic Civil War.

Terms
The Galactic Concordance officially ended hostilities between the New Republic and Galactic Empire, and stipulated that the Empire remain within predetermined boundaries in the Core and Inner Rim and cease hostilities following its surrender. It also called for the end of the recruitment and mobilization of stormtrooper forces, the abandonment of the numerous Imperial Academies scattered across the galaxy and the ultimate end to the Galactic Civil War. It also called for the Empire to give up its claim on the Core World of Coruscant to the New Republic, along with abandoning the practice of torture.

Rise and fall of the Galactic Empire
With the dissolution of the Galactic Republic in 19 BBY, Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine issued the proclamation of the New Order, effectively wiping away the thousand-year-old republic in an instant and replacing it with his own Galactic Empire, placing himself as its first Emperor. Having eliminated the Republic and the Jedi Order through betrayal from within the Grand Army of the Republic, Palpatine would oversee the ruthless expansion of his Empire and the genocidal actions of his regime, ultimately hoping to control the galaxy and supplant all galactic authority with his new Sith Empire.

Eventually, a loose coalition of rebel cells would come into existence to question his rule, while the eventual Alliance to Restore the Republic would be formed shortly before the destruction of the Empire's First Death Star. With the growing resistance movement threatening to end his reign, the Emperor embarked on a massive military effort to crush the Rebellion and its leaders, branding them terrorists and traitors to his rule. The following four years of galactic conflict known as the Galactic Civil War would see numerous attempts to finally crush the Rebellion, with most ending in failure. Following Operation Ringbreaker and Yellow Moon, the Alliance would launch a successful attack against the Emperor's Death Star II under construction over the Sanctuary Moon. Following the destruction of the Empire's new battle station, along with the death of Emperor Palpatine and his right hand man Darth Vader, the newly formed New Republic would slowly push its way towards the Empire's capital of Coruscant in an effort to restore freedom to the galaxy. After another year of bloody conflict, the New Republic would score a decisive victory over the sandy wastes of Jakku, the last stand of the fractured Galactic Empire and final blow against its faltering resolve. With the Empire facing severe internal unrest and militarily exhausted, it would be forced to sign the Galactic Concordance mid-battle, officially surrendering to the New Republic and relinquishing its bid to dominate the galaxy.

Almost immediately afterwards, Imperial warships began jumping into the Unknown Regions.

Violations of the First Order
The treaty's advent led to a push for peace and demilitarization by the Republic, who feared repeating the mistakes of the former Galactic Republic during the Clone Wars. One of the first acts of the restored Galactic Senate was to pass the Military Disarmament Act, which reduced the New Republic Defense Fleet and armed forces to a token force compared to what the galaxy had as part of the Galactic Empire. Despite this, the Republic would still maintain the largest fleet in the galaxy, but nevertheless it was a fraction compared to the size of the Republic Navy at the height of the Clone Wars.

With the Senate now firmly believing the Galactic Empire posed little threat, it turned its attention to reshaping galactic politics, most notably deciding not to place its new capital on Coruscant but rather have its capital shift across member worlds by a process of election. This moving rotation convinced many of the Republic's intentions on not becoming another 'Galactic Empire,' and increased its membership to include many dissatisfied systems that had withdrawn from the Republic during the Secessionist Movement.

With many senators believing that the new peace was permanent, Chancellor Lanever Villecham and the rest of the Galactic Senate focused primarily on forging improved trade relations with the neutral systems of the Trans-Hydian Borderlands, despite the growing threat of the First Order, a successor state to the Old Empire growing in the Unknown Regions. While the Chancellor believed this new galactic government posed no threat as long as it adhered to the dictates of the Galactic Concordance, the First Order had in reality been skirting the stipulations of the treaty. The First Order was utilizing new Resurgent-class Star Destroyers, which were in themselves a clear violation of New Republic-First Order treaties governing capital ships, along with blatantly ignoring New Republic bans on the Order's purchase of weaponry. In a further attempt to undermine the legitimacy of the Galactic Concordance, the First Order began the massive mobilization of stormtrooper forces and expansion of its Army and Navy, along with training its new personnel on ship-based Academies, causing many First Order personnel to view these new vessels as their homes. The First Order also developed a new generation of IT-000 Interrogation droids, thus violating New Republic laws banning torture.

Despite this, many in the Senate believed the rumored reports of growing First Order strength to be needless warmongering and alarmist speech. Individuals such as Leia Organa voiced some of the strongest protest over the First Order's mobilization for war, but corruption and ignorance branded her for fear mongering, along with tarnishing her image and reducing her reputation. Believing that the Republic was not doing enough to secure the safety of its citizens, General Leia Organa led her private military force known as the Resistance&mdash;which was funded from like-minded senators who shared her fears over the First Order&mdash;in an attempt to keep the Order in check. Despite not being sanctioned by the New Republic, the Resistance was unofficially supported by the Senate, who was hoping to avoid a conflict against the Imperial successors.

Behind the scenes
The Galactic Concordance was first introduced in the 2015 reference book Star Wars: The Force Awakens: The Visual Dictionary written by Lucasfilm Story Group member Pablo Hidalgo. The Legends version of the end to the Galactic Civil War was the Pellaeon–Gavrisom Treaty, which was signed nineteen years after the Battle of Yavin, and not part of the new canonical universe.

Appearances

 * Lost Stars
 * Before the Awakening