Love him or hate him, Jar Jar Binks was a military leader and politician. That he acquired his senatorial political position may be baffling to us. How could a Gungan with no political experience wind up in the Senate? Two main explanations are that he earned it and that it was intentionally part of the character’s arc.
Jar Jar the Politician
As a short recap, Jar Jar Binks rose from a one-time “outcast in Gungan society” to a “Junior Representative in the Galactic Senate.” He didn’t have political experience, so this transformation may seem odd. Yet, one explanation is that he earned it.
His Wookieepedia page reflects this reason by crediting him for securing the alliance between Rugor Nass and Queen Amidala, bringing human and Gungan inhabitants together on Naboo. As a reward for his service to his homeworld, Jar Jar became a Representative to “give voice to a minority population or political group from that specific world.” Hence, he secured it from his actions, but the position was also fitting for him.
Several fans in this Reddit discussion support this explanation and how it aligns with Jar Jar since “he in some form helped liberate Naboo from the Trade Federation by working with outsiders.” Others add that “Jar Jar redeemed himself in the Gungans’ eyes at the Battle of Naboo”, which helped place him in the Senate. That makes sense because Nass promoted Jar Jar to a Bombad General while planning for the battle.
A post here provides excerpts from The Attack of the Clones – Visual Dictionary as a source that also confirms this line of thinking. After the battle, Jar Jar “rode a wave of Naboo goodwill to become Associate Planetary Representative.” The rationale was that Binks held “purity of heart over other qualifications to govern,” making him a perfect candidate.
We should also include how Senator Amidala selected Jar Jar to become her replacement in the Senate. As a fan here notes, “She trusted him with her life.” Hence, he had gained the support of more influential people to gain his political position. That sounds like real life.
Lucas Making a Point
Others on the above Reddit board bring up the idea that Lucas wanted to reflect how “unqualified candidates” acquire political positions “all the time in real life.” So, Jar Jar’s ascension could also be seen as a point that the filmmaker wanted to express.
Among the dissections of Binks, we know that this character “was intended to provide comic relief to the politically involved and otherwise serious plot” of the first prequel. Beyond Jar Jar’s “clumsy, clown-like antics”, we could see how he was supposed to reflect more of an accidental, unexpected rise into politics.
Lucas has referred to Binks as “the key to all of it” across the three prequels. On that basis, we can also see how Jar Jar could be a realistic portrayal of how someone gets into a position of power. It’s about luck, timing, and the influence of others.
Since Lucas has also indicated how Jar Jar was inspired by the Disney character Goofy, this may not make intuitive sense. As we see in this short video, Lucas defended Binks for being “childlike” and appealing to younger viewers. The comedic aspect was intentional, but adding in the political component could have been too.
What better way to reflect political realism than with a bumbling character who rises in politics? That Jar Jar had a key role in granting Palpatine emergency power and the rise of the Empire makes this intentionality even more appealing. Placing Binks in this way may even have parallels to what happened with Neville Chamberlain and the Munich Agreement in 1938.
In addition, Jar Jar’s rise and fall in the prequels coincides with the notion of Binks as the intentionally accidental senator. As “an unwilling participant in the rise of Palpatine and the Empire,” Binks climbed into notoriety and then sank into obscurity. He is barely a part of Revenge of the Sith.
According to the novel Aftermath: Empire’s End, Jar Jar is exiled once more from his community and may have wound up as a street performer. If we go with this denouement, Binks went full circle, from comedic to political and back again.
A Gungan With No Political Experience
At first, it may seem strange that a Gungan without political experience would progress into the Galactic Senate. But we can see how Jar Jar earned his position through his role with the Gungans. We can also see how his accidental rise could be a part of his unique character, like or not.