Everything NeverarGreat just said is why I absolutely hate the opening line of TLJ “The First Order reigns.” Also hate when Rey says “The First Order will control all major systems within weeks.” That shit is insulting to the viewer’s intelligence.

I think what works best is a situation where the Republic was too divided to be effective (like the UN, actually, connecting to your analogy) and the Resistance and First Order are already fighting anyway. Destroying the Senate won’t annihilate the entire Republic, it just renders an already inneffective government even more helpless. The Republic’s destruction here would be treated as more of a formality. What were they gonna do, sanction the First Order? It’s really just like the UN in my scenario.