20 burning questions we need answered in The Mandalorian season 2

Scene from Disney+ series THE MANDALORIAN.

What is the condition of the New Republic?

The Mandalorian takes place in the New Republic, the chaotic era between the fall of the Empire in Return of the Jedi and the rise of the First Order. Formed after the Battle of Endor, the Rebel Alliance evolved into The New Republic and tried to restore a democratic government to the galaxy. But the New Republic almost immediately struggles to maintain control of its territory and ultimately fails.

In the aftermath of the Galactic Civil War, it appears the people running the New Republic aren’t impressing anybody. Both Cara Dune and Mando refuse to seek New Republic help in dire situations because they consider its reach largely impotent and its officials incompetent.

Chuck Wendig tackles this period in his Star Wars novel Aftermath. True, the book is no longer official canon, but The Mandalorian‘s showrunners may be eyeing it and other previous works as a guide. In Aftermath, the politicians attempting to govern the New Republic are goodhearted but simply not up to the task. A populist/centrist split develops and the collapse is sealed when the influential Princess Leia Organa is revealed to be the secret offspring of Darth Vader. Pushed aside, Leia then turns to organize the Resistance in an attempt to stop the emergence of the First Order.

These military and political events of the early New Republic set the social and political background for The Mandalorian, with the Outer Rim left a lawless frontier where mercenaries, bounty hunters and Imperial remnant forces operate beyond the capacity of the New Republic to police them, and dark forces are on the rise.