Qual é a situação política de The Force Awakens?

Eu odeio ter que dizer isso, mas Abrams está me fazendo desejar mais política no novo Star Wars. Principalmente sobre as interações entre as duas principais facções:

So we have the First Order (referred to henceforth as the First Rodeo) and the Resistance. It seems to me like the First Rodeo is descended from the Empire, or at least its military, though for much of the movie they're attacking rather than defending, which makes me think they started from a much lower position. On the other side of the spectrum, there's the Resistance (referred to henceforth as Revengeance), who always seems to be defending, or at least reacting to the First Rodeo. Plus, they seem connected to the Republic, which I assume is an offshoot of the Empire's government, or of the government of the prequels' Republic. So it makes no sense to me why the Revengeance has such a name, since they seem to be operating in a similar capacity to the GAR or the Imperial Stormtroopers.

Então, estou pensando principalmente em como as coisas são em outras partes da galáxia. O Primeiro Rodeio está realmente ganhando em todos os lugares, ou a Revanche é menor do que parece? Esses nomes fazem algum sentido? Existe realmente alguma resposta?