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We never see a non-clone army of the Republic, like during the times of the Old Republic. All we see are clones. Obviously, until the Clone Army came into service, the Jedi could not have fought the Separatists alone. If the Separatist threat was so great, there should have been a united army under the Republic. That would have been common sense.

Even after the Clone Army came into service, such a centralised military could have been of great help, at least in the defense of nearby star systems. But we don't see that.

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    The republic didn't need a centralised army because it hadn't faced a large multi-system threat for millennia. It wasn't until the separatists suddenly (and wholly unexpectedly) turned up with a multi-million-strong droid army that the Republic had a need for its own forces.
    – Valorum
    Mar 11, 2016 at 18:34
  • I will edit my question. But even years after there was still no such army. At times we see that victory for the Republic was nigh impossible. Isn't it obvious that such an army could help the Clone Army and provide better results?
    – Shalindra
    Mar 11, 2016 at 18:37
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    I'm fairly sure that each planet had its own defence forces.
    – Valorum
    Mar 11, 2016 at 18:40
  • Yeah, I know. I mean one system's non-clone forces were never shown to have helped that of a neighbouring one. Nonetheless is it not a flaw that such an army never came into being given the situation of the Clone Wars?
    – Shalindra
    Mar 11, 2016 at 18:43
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    "If the Separatist threat was so great, there should have been a united army under the Republic. That would have been common sense." Alas, common sense is not so common. Worse, history repeats itself.
    – Null ♦
    Mar 11, 2016 at 18:55

2 Answers 2

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This has been addressed in the DK factbook Star Wars Made Easy: A Beginner's Guide to a Galaxy Far, Far Away. In short, there are no standing armies on any of the planets of the Republic, only small militias.

ISN’T THERE ALREADY A REPUBLIC ARMY?

No. Individual planets may have their own small armed forces, such as the Royal Guard on Naboo, but thanks to 1,000 years of peace, the Republic has never formed an interplanetary army. Or, to put it another way, thanks to never forming an interplanetary army, the Republic has enjoyed 1,000 years of peace.

Given that the Clone Wars lasted just three years, there really wasn't time to raise any sort of interplanetary force, let alone build the ships and weapons that would be needed to supply them.

We do see some evidence of local voluntary forces defending their own planets though.

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  • Thank you! This is the most convincing reason I have had for my question.
    – Shalindra
    May 4, 2019 at 16:47
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    @Shalindra - In that case, don't forget to change the acceptance to this answer :-)
    – Valorum
    May 4, 2019 at 16:52
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    You had to remind me twice in the span of five minutes! :D
    – Shalindra
    May 4, 2019 at 16:54
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Besides the Jedi force of around 10,000, there was the Republic's non-Jedi law enforcers, the Judicials.

A Judicial was a member of the Judicial Department. They served as the primary non-Jedi peace officers in the Galactic Republic. Most Judicials attended the Judicial Academy before being assigned to the Judical Forces. With the start of the Clone Wars, the Republic formed the Grand Army of the Republic and the Republic Navy which took over the military functions performed by the Judicial Department. Many admirals, generals, and other commanders were drawn from the ranks of the Judicials. - Judicial, Wikia

The prime example is Tarkin (from which the above quote lists as a citation). He served on the Judicials before the war, then was later made a Captain in the Republic Navy. - Star Wars: Tarkin.

Systems also had their own navies and security forces. You see this with worlds like Mandalore in Clone Wars.

Most of the graduates [of Sullust Sector Spacefarers Academy] would be moving on to positions in commercial piloting, local system navies, or the Judicial Department. - Tarkin, ch. 6

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  • Thank you very much! Appreciate the time taken to help me out!
    – Shalindra
    Mar 11, 2016 at 18:53
  • On returning to this, I realize that I need to remind you that, in my question, I meant a standing army that is not localized to a certain region and that is not made up of clones owned by the republic. I believe you are referring to the policing of the Republic. I found a very effective answer that is the most plausible answer for my question.
    – Shalindra
    May 4, 2019 at 17:15

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