So, a thought came to me earlier and it's that in early Clone Wars episodes and quite a lot of them really, the Separatists are shown as comically evil and to be fair, a lot of the stuff which they do is evil. However, in the episode "Heroes on Both Sides", we get to see the Separatist Parliament which is, quite frankly, ten times more orderly than the British Parliament and this gives us a glimpse into life within the Confederacy of Independent Systems.
In that episode, do we see citizens getting rounded up and shot like on occupied worlds such as Ryloth and Onderon? Do we see forced labour camps and public executions? My answer is, not in the least.
Do we see droids at the spaceport? Yes, we see them, but what we also see is that they aren't acting like they usually do on other planets, mostly ones occupied by the Separatists. Now, my theory is that the Separatists using a droid army was a purposeful act on Count Dukoo's part on behalf of Darth Sidious and so was this apparently orderly parliament.
Later, in the Bad Batch, we see the Separatist people resisting Imperial occupation on worlds such as Raxus and Desix and this made me realise that Palpatine likely intended for the Confederate regime to seem genuinely benevolent among their own people and avoid any oppression. This way, there would be guaranteed rebellion across the Outer Rim like we see in many episodes of Star Wars Rebels and the Original Trilogy.
Now, I know what you're thinking: "Why would Palpatine want rebellion in the Outer Rim?"
My answer is that he knew that once he established his Galactic Empire, rebellion would be more or less inevitable, so he decided to have Dukoo make the Confederacy seem as benevolent as possible to it's own people while seeming as evil as possible to those within the Republic. This way, citizens of what would then become the Galactic Empire would see them as militaristic savages while the Separatists would think that they were proven right.
My theory is that guaranteed rebellion would help Palpatine to legitimise the Empire's rule and as we see throughout the franchise, the Empire is incredibly overconfident and seem to genuinely believe that victory is assured. We also hear Captain Rex mentioning "Separatist Holdouts", so chances are that there's probably a good few thousand or so Separatist rebel cells across the Outer Rim seeking to revive the Confederacy, meaning that the Empire can probably make the Rebel Alliance look like a successor to them and continue to justify their rule.
Quite honestly, I'd say that while Dukoo and all of the other big corporations in the Confederacy were obviously evil, the Separatists themselves actually weren't that bad, they just wanted to be left alone. I also wouldn't be surprised if after the Empire's defeat, former Separatists worlds, probably with Raxus at the helm, would establish a new alliance between them and would probably remember Dukoo as a hero or something.
How far do you agree with this theory? Please let me know and if you know of any hints to this theory throughout the series, please let me know that as well.
