The Clone Wars and the Lie of Neutrality
Last week Finish The Clone Wars published another great video featuring all the times we see Mandalore and it's enthusiastic people in The Clone Wars. I encourage you to watch the video here. The video got me thinking of all the times we see Mandalore and other neural systems in the show, and how they seem to be in conflict despite their neutrality.
We know from The Voyage of Temptation episode that Satine leads the Council of Neutral Systems made up of 1,500 worlds. We are shown a lot of Mandalore throughout the series, ending with the death of Satine and Maul battling Palpatine for control of the planet. Although we are given something of a fill-in in the Ahsoka novel, Mandalore's story seems messy and unfinished.
Due to Satine's past as the leader who cleaned up after her planet's civil war, she was opposed to violence and chose to stay out of the war. We see how this worked out. First it was Death Watch. Then it was Maul and Savage, Death Watch, and a whole bunch of underworld baddies. In the end, it was Mandalore's neutrality that made them such an easy target. They had no real standing army and any interference by an outside force would be seen as an invasion. They had successfully neutralized themselves into a rut.
A similar planet was Onderon. Remember that arc? Ahsoka caught up with Lux Bonteri after his brief membership in Death Watch, and had, for the first time, competition for the attentions of a guy she wasn't supposed to have feelings for. Yeah, we basically got a taste of high school in Star Wars. We also meet Saw, who we all know becomes a character in Rebels and Rogue One.
But, it was a cool and telling arc. A constant theme in the Onderon arc is the lie of neutrality. The separatist's sensed weakness is Onderon's king and managed to replace him. When Saw attempts to rescue him, King Dendup explains.
"I was faced with a difficult choice; to join the Republic or the Confederacy. Both are corrupt, but I had to pick a side before one was chosen for me. Accept I chose neither."
Choosing neither didn't end up too well. After an extended Separatist occupation, the rebels and Ahsoka manage to push the Separatists to the point of giving up. Onderon was once again free to choose. They chose the Republic, making Lux the new planetary senator.
Neutrality must be fought for. The Council of Neutral Systems didn't stay neutral without winning battles. Satine fought for neutrality and autonomy when Death Watch was threatening her world. Onderon, although not officially on a side, had to fight to get an invading force and fake king off of their world. The bottom line is neutrality is something of a misnomer. You aren't neutral when you choose to stay out of a conflict. You are a third side, but you fight just as hard. Sometimes you are are successful. Other times you find yourself choosing a side or finding yourself on one by force. Overall, the end result is inconsequential. There is no such thing as true neutrality.
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