Andor and the Politics of an Incipient Insurgency
In analysis for Political Violence At A Glance, an IGCC-supported blog dedicated to political violence and its alternatives, Daniel Silverman, an assistant professor of political science at Carnegie Mellon University, analyzes how Star Wars’ Andor reflects how actual insurgencies work, from the fallacy of over-repression to reasons why people participate in rebellions.
Caution: this article contains spoilers about the Disney Plus series Andor. Read on with care.
As many critics have noted, Disney’s new show Andor is simply fantastic. With a gritty realism that has often been missing in the Star Wars universe, and some crisp writing, stellar acting, and tense action throughout the series, it is already being discussed as one of the strongest entries in the franchise’s storied history.
But one part of its appeal that critics and fans may not fully appreciate is how realistically grounded the show is in its politics. The show portrays an incipient insurgency against a powerful tyrannical state—the Empire—and the choices and challenges that those on both sides of the conflict face. Here are some key ways it taps into what we know about how insurgencies unfold.
Read the full blog post at Political Violence At A Glance.