Separatist Alliance

A secessionist movement secretly engineered by Darth Sidious to dismantle democracy and destroy the Jedi.

The Separatist Alliance, colloquially known as the Separatists or the Confederacy of Independent Systems (CIS), emerged during a two-year crisis preceding the Clone Wars. This fictional conflict spanned three years within the Star Wars franchise, pitting the alliance against the Galactic Republic. Publicly led by Count Dooku, the movement sought to prevent thousands of planetary systems from seceding from the Republic. However, the entire conflict was a scheme orchestrated by Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, who secretly operated as the Sith Lord Darth Sidious.

While the war was briefly mentioned in the 1977 film A New Hope and later depicted in Attack of the Clones (2002) and Revenge of the Sith (2005), it served as the central setting for multiple animated projects, including a 2D series (2003–2005) and a 3D series (2008–2014, 2020). The alliance's military force consisted of battle droids deployed against the Republic's clone troopers.

Quick Facts

Leader: Count Dooku (Publicly), Darth Sidious (Secretly)
Primary opponent: Galactic Republic; Jedi Order

Lore & Background

Within the Star Wars narrative, the Separatist Alliance formed as thousands of planetary systems prepared to leave the Galactic Republic. Count Dooku served as the public leader, guiding these systems into the Confederacy of Independent Systems. The conflict was designed by Palpatine, secretly Darth Sidious, to implement long-term Sith plans: wiping out the Jedi Order and seizing total galactic control. To achieve this, Sidious embedded a secret executive command known as "Order 66" into the clone troopers' brains via control chips.

This order instantly made clones perceive their Jedi officers as traitors, leading to their immediate execution. The war drew inspiration from real-world events like the transition of the Roman Republic to the Roman Empire and the American Civil War. The narrative also explored how democracies turn into dictatorships without coups, citing influences such as Adolf Hitler's rise in Nazi Germany and the Vietnam War era corruption.

Reader's Guide

The Separatist Alliance was established by systems seceding from the Galactic Republic, fighting against the Republic's clone troopers led by the Jedi Order. Their military relied on a massive army of battle droids rather than biological soldiers. The conflict lasted three years and was secretly manipulated by Chancellor Palpatine (Darth Sidious) to destroy the Jedi and transition the galaxy into an autocratic Empire under his rule. Key moments include the first battle on Geonosis, where Yoda declared the war begun, and the final events on Coruscant, Utapau, and Mustafar depicted in Revenge of the Sith. The alliance's military capability was neutralized instantly when Sidious issued a shutdown command to the droid army following the execution of Order 66. George Lucas used this narrative to answer questions about the Empire's origin and Anakin Skywalker's transformation into Darth Vader.