Mandalore Under Seige

Mandalore, Outer Rim - Mandalore has fallen under the control of Sith Lord Darth Maul following a violent overthrow of its pacifist government. Ending the planet's long standing neutral position in the clone wars and placing its political leadership firmly under separatist-aligneded rule.

Maul seized power after orchestrating a coup through Death Watch, a militant Mandalorian faction opposed to the planet’s pacifist leadership.1 Duchess Satine Kryze, who led Mandalore's peaceful regime and was a prominent advocate for nonviolence in the Galactic Senate, was killed by Maul shortly after the takeover. With her death, Mandalore’s political neutrality effectively came to an end.2 

Maul has assumed authority over the planet by taking command of Death Watch, dismantling the current government and eliminating opposition.3 The takeover marks a sharp reversal for a world that has sought to remain outside the escalating galactic conflict between the Republic and Separatist Alliance. 

Kryze had positioned Mandalore as a leading voice for neutrality throughout the clone wars. In 22 BBY she became a founding member and central figure of the Council of Neutral Systems, a coalition of more than 1,500 planetary systems represented in the Galactic Senate.4 The council included Senators from the pacifist faction and routinely abstained from votes related to military operations and war authorization, while opposing sanctions against neutral systems.

Addressing the Senate in 21 BBY, Kryze warned against participation in the war, stating, “War is intolerable. We have been deceived into thinking that we must be a part of it. I say the moment we commit to fighting we already lost.”5 In another speech, she described herself as the “designated regent of fifteen hundred systems,” speaking on behalf of worlds wishing to avoid involvement in the conflict.6 

Despite Mandalore's official neutrality, internal unrest continued to grow. Death Watch, led at the time by Pre Vizsla, the former governor of Mandalore’s moon Concordia, carried out a series of attacks intended to destabilize Kryze’s government.7 The Galactic Republic labeled the group’s action as terrorism, prompting Jedi involvement. 

Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi was sent to confront Viszla, but efforts to eliminate Death Watch were unsuccessful. The group's continued operations created an opening for Maul, who later killed Viszla and took control over the organization, using it to overthrow the pacifist regime from within. 

Mandalore is located in the Outer Rim, near the edge of Mid Rim and has an estimated population of four million.8 The planet was once a major military power during the Mandalorian Wars nearly 4,000 years earlier, aligning at different points with both the Sith and the Jedi. After centuries of warfare culminated in widespread planetary devastation in the 730s BBY, Mandalore adopted pacifism as its guiding principle.9 

Kryze consistently warned the senate about the dangers of escalating violence. “Extremism is rising across the galaxy” she said during the formation of the Council of Neutral Systems. “There is only one solution for all of us, on all sides: de-escalation.”10 It is unclear if the council will continue without her leadership. 

Her death and the consolidation of Maul’s power now leave Mandalore under Sith control, its neutral status abandoned amid the widening conflict that continues to consume the galaxy.   

Mandalore and Ukraine: Neutrality Under Pressure

The collapse of Mandolore in Star Wars: The Clone Wars offers a useful framework for understanding how neutrality can fail in real-world conflicts, particularly in the case of Ukraine. In both situations, neutrality is adopted not out of weakness or indecision, but as a deliberate strategy meant to preserve sovereignty in an international (or interplanetary) system dominated by powerful actors. 

Under Duchess Satine Kryze, Mandalore commits to pacifism after centuries of devastating war. Her government seeks to break historical cycles of violence by refusing military alignment and by advocating for de-escalation at the galactic level. Ukraine followed a comparable path in the decades after the Cold War, pursuing non-alignment between NATO and Russia.11 While Ukraine maintained a standing military, its broader strategy relied on diplomacy, legal recognition of borders, and security assurances. In both cases, neutrality was seen as the best way to avoid becoming a battleground for rival powers. 

However, neutrality depends on recognition by others. In The Clone Wars, Mandalore’s status is never fully respected by either the Republic or the Separatists, both of whom view the planet as strategically important. Ukraine has faced a similar challenge, as NATO’s expressed openness to future Ukrainian membership and Russia’s refusal to recognize Ukraine as a fully sovereign nation both undermined the credibility of non-alignment long before the open conflict erupted.12, 13 When powerful actors do not accept neutrality, it becomes increasingly fragile. 

External pressure also reshapes internal politics. On Mandolore, the threat of outside intervention strengthens Death Watch, a faction that portrays pacifism as dangerous and ineffective. The group gains support by promising security through strength, and a return to their former warrior traditions, eventually serving as the mechanism through which Darth Maul seizes power. In Ukraine, internal divisions have intensified, contributing to polarization and separatist movements. Many Eastern Ukrainians side with Russian military efforts, while Western Ukrainians advocate for more European integration.14 In both cases, external threats radicalize domestic politics and narrow the space for compromise. 

The breaking point arrives when violence overtakes diplomacy. Satine’s assassination marks the moment when Mandalore’s pacifist project becomes impossible to sustain, as governance shifts from legitimacy to force. Ukraine experienced a similar rupture with the annexation of Crimea and the subsequent full scale invasion.15 Both are events that rendered neutrality no longer viable. At that stage, self-defense is no longer strategic but necessary.

Importantly, neither narrative paints neutrality as naive. Satine’s critique of war is philosophically coherent, and Ukraine's reliance on international norms reflected widely held liberal assumptions about global order. Both cases instead expose the tension between normative ideals, peace law and sovereignty, and a realist system in which power often outweighs principle. Mandalore and Ukraine each demonstrate that initial neutrality can fail because it requires mutual restraint that competing powers are unwilling to maintain.

Citations: 

[1] Star Wars Databank. (n.d.). Death Watch. StarWars.com. Retrieved January 22, 2026, from https://www.starwars.com/databank/death-watch

[2] Star Wars Databank. (n.d.). Duchess Satine Kryze. StarWars.com. Retrieved January 22, 2026, from https://www.starwars.com/databank/duchess-satine-kryze

[3] Star Wars Databank. (n.d.). Darth Maul. StarWars.com. Retrieved January 22, 2026, from https://www.starwars.com/databank/darth-maul

[4] Wookieepedia. (n.d.). Council of Neutral Systems. Wookieepedia The Star Wars Wiki. Retrieved January 22, 2026, from https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Council_of_Neutral_Systems

[5] Dini, P. (Writer). (2010). Voyage of Temptation (Season Season 2, Episode Episode 13) [TV series episode]. In Star Wars The Clone Wars. Lucasfilm.

[6] Dini, P. (Writer). (2010). Voyage of Temptation (Season Season 2, Episode Episode 13) [TV series episode]. In Star Wars The Clone Wars. Lucasfilm.

[7] Star Wars Databank. (n.d.). Pre Vizsla. StarWars.com. Retrieved January 22, 2026, from https://www.starwars.com/databank/pre-vizsla

[8] Wallace, D., & Fry, J. (2009). Star Wars The Essential Atlas. Random House Worlds.

[9] Wallace, D., & Fry, J. (2009). Star Wars The Essential Atlas. Random House Worlds.

[10] Greenberg, D. (Writer). (2010). Duchess of Mandalore (Season Season 2, Episode Episode 12) [TV series episode]. In Star Wars The Clone Wars. Lucasfilm.

[11] Ukraine votes to drop non-aligned status. (2014, December 23). BBC. Retrieved January 22, 2026, from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-30587924

[12] The Heads of State and Government of the member countries of the North Atlantic Alliance. (2008, April 3). Bucharest Summit Declaration. NATO. Retrieved January 22, 2026, from https://www.nato.int/en/about-us/official-texts-and-resources/official-texts/2008/04/03/bucharest-summit-declaration

[13] Rogin, A., & Sumlin, E. (2022, March 8). Ukraine's history and its centuries-long road to independence. PBS. Retrieved January 22, 2026, from https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/ukraines-history-and-its-centuries-long-road-to-independence

[14] Kaplan, R. (2014, March 5). Ukraine crisis: a look at the country's internal divisions. CBS News. Retrieved January 22, 2026, from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/a-look-at-ukraines-internal-divisions/