Relações Internacionais e Star Wars: As crises da democracia contemporânea e a segunda trilogia

Abstract

The use of cinematographic works for the study and teaching of International Relations has become increasingly frequent. Works loaded with political and cultural information and influenced by historical contexts are of great importance for the understanding of various topics. The Star Wars trilogies are an example of how a work can be influenced by historical events, and in this case, the second trilogy is full of references and political and cultural structures influenced by the unique perspective of the creator, George Lucas. Palpatine uses the weakening of the credibility of democracy itself and takes advantage of the recent popular support for undemocratic acts to create his own Empire, justified by the corruption of the current democratic system. Therefore, this trilogy can be used as a tool to analyze cases in which the current democracy is threatened by instruments of weakening that are supported in crisis situations, always with the intention of obtaining population support for the dismantling of democratic institutions.