The Republic was never what was important - ever. It was but a shell that surrounds the Jedi - just as the teachings of the Jedi are a shell surrounding the heart of man. You see, the war, the true war, has never been one waged by droids, or warships, or soldiers. They are but crude matter, obstacles against which we test ourselves. The true war is waged in the hearts of all living things, against our own natures, light or dark. That is what shapes and binds this galaxy, not these creations of man.

• Kreia on why Culture is the beating heart of an Empire. It's why China is in a dominant position, because their culture is unified around the CCP, who use the money from said economy to buy off politicians in America and elsewhere to keep the general populace in a schizophrenic state of blue vs red while they act unimpeded.