Pax Republica takes a somewhat darker view of the Star Wars universe, despite our timeline being set at the height of the Republic and the Jedi Order. While this is an era of relative peace and prosperity in the Galaxy, if one looks beyond the superficial it becomes obvious that not everything is sugar and spice.
The Republic maintains firm control over much of the Galaxy through political, diplomatic, and economic means. The wealth disparity between the Core Worlds and the more outlying systems of the Colonies and the Rim couldn’t be more apparent, and there is a great deal of animosity between the “haves” and the “have-nots”. The economic situation and mutual reliance between the Core Worlds and the Colonies keep this tension from bubbling over into open hostility. Not to mention the fact that the Jedi serve the interests of the Republic, and an uprising among the outlying systems would warrant a swift response.
Further from the Core, bordering the Colonies and reaching into the known worlds of the Outer Rim is Hutt Space. The Hutts have ruled this region for centuries, even before the formation of the Republic, and the two groups maintain an uneasy truce of convenience. The Hutt Clans are first and foremost a mercantile power, with economic interests taking precedence over all others. Each major Hutt lord maintains a standing force of mercenaries, indentured soldiers and slaves, with enough military force between the Clans to easily rival any force the Republic may muster, save for the Jedi themselves. While the Hutts are eager to do business with anyone with something to offer them, many of their preferred paths to profit fly directly in the face of Republic laws; smuggling, slavery, weapons, and illicit substances are among their more profitable industries.
Though the war with the Sith ended over a century ago, it remains a fresh wound in the memory of the Jedi Order. Never again will the Jedi Order allow the taint of the Dark Side to take hold and threaten the peace and safety of the Galaxy, and they will do whatever is necessary to safeguard against it. The Jedi Council maintains a very rigid, conservative view of the Force, the Light, and the Dark, with little tolerance for even tiny deviations from the letter and spirit of the Jedi Code. Children are removed from their families as soon as their potential is discovered both because their training must by necessity begin as soon as possible, but because the longer a child is allowed to grow outside of the Order, the more potential exists for them to fall to the Dark Side. Those who choose to leave the Order are treated no differently from any who might fall to the Dark Side; one does not simply leave the Jedi Order.
The reputation of the Jedi Order varies the further one gets from the Core Worlds. On Coruscant, Jedi are respected and afforded a great deal of cooperation, even reverence. Out on the Rim, on a world like Tatooine, Jedi may be considered little more than bogeymen, stories parents tell their children to get them to eat their vegetables and go to bed on time. While the Order is at its peak, its numbers remain low enough that outside of the Core Worlds, particularly Coruscant itself, most beings in the Galaxy will never cross paths with a Jedi Knight.