With all the advancements and advantages that come with joining the alpha quadrant power
the United Federation of Planets, why wouldn’t a species want to join?
Hi, Ric here looking at reasons why joining the UFP may not be in the best interests for
an alien species.
If you’re looking for reasons to sign up then there should already be a companion video
to this one covering a variety of benefits, but we’re here to play devils’ advocate.
So to begin with, there is often a lot of misconception about how militarised and rigid
the Federation is.
This stems in no small part, from its own processes.
Starfleet, by its very nature is often the first point of contact with a new alien species
and as the Federation’s largest fleeted organisation often acts as courier, ambassador
and enforcer for the organisation.
Starfleet is itself run in militaristic fashion, complete with uniform, ranks, designation
and serial numbers and as many species only reference point for the UFP, shapes their
entire experience of the group.
Plus a very high percentage of Starfleet is human, with many of its assets Utopia Planetia,
Starfleet Academy, all being in the Sol system.
So this also adds to the notion that the entire Federation is a human-centric organisation.
So these opinions may dissuade many from approaching the UFP with membership in mind, but there
are some very real reasons to abstain, leave or even oppose this power too.
The first and biggest option that comes to mind is probably the most obvious reason to
steer clear; joining the Federation means committing yourself to a higher authority.
Although the laws set out in the Federation charter try to outline a way of life that
protects individual liberties and the freedoms of a planet’s native government, the laws
it created to enforce this are not optional in most cases.
Now a lot of these rules simply boil down to “don’t disrespect other cultures”
but that’s a fairly obvious conclusion for a fledging interstellar power to come to by
themselves.
Angering another species isn’t exactly conclusive to creating diplomatic ties but why would
you need an entire higher governmental structure to tell you to do that?
The red tape that inevitably surrounds things like trade and commerce in Federation space,
while ruling out the smuggling of sentient organisms, prohibits the exchange of many
other items.
Legitimate traders often find themselves on the receiving end of inquisitive Starfleet
Vessels adding delays and costs to their schedule and not to mention Romulan ale being confiscated,
hell with the Federation around it’s a bad idea to do trade with the Romulans at all.
Here’s a point.
Why is Romulan Ale banned?
Is it too strong, too narcotic?
No. no it’s confiscated routinely simply because the Federation has been at war with
the Romulans and all goods of Romulan origin are under a heavy embargo established with
the formation of the neutral zone.
If you’re government has ties with organizations such as the Orion Syndicate, you can expect
strict regulation in Federation involvement if you were a member, potentially severing
ties with the entire syndicate because of the more unjust aspects to their business
practices.
In theory the UFP doesn’t tell you which governments you can ally with, but in practice?
This highlights a much larger problem too; the Federation is 217 years old and has made
a lot of enemies.
They cite security and unification as one of their principles but have come into conflict
with almost every other major political power in the alpha quadrant.
Look at this map.
The Romulan’s were an enemy of humanity since pre-Federation days and remain antagonistic
to this day.
An enemy you would inherit if full federation membership was attained.
Then we have the Cardassian Union which has fought the UFP twice in recent history in
both the Boarder Wars and as a member of the Dominion.
The Dominion, a superpower from the Gamma Quadrant, that had to pass through a cosmic
choke-point into our local corner and still bought the Federation to its knees.
And it’s not an isolated story.
The Federation-Klingon war, the Borg making a beeline straight for sector 001, bypassing
all those defences?
Even technologically limited species such as the Talarians view the Federation as an
enemy force, having frequently ambushed and destroyed its far superior adversaries.
Does this paint a good image of Starfleet; The Federation’s security force?
How are they to protect all their member races, especially those on the frontier of its territory?
Bajor was considering federation membership after driving the Cardassians of its homeworld
and eventually their petition would be accepted however when the Dominion showed up, Benjamin
Sisko suggested that the Bajoran people sign a non-aggression pact with the gamma quadrant
power, otherwise they would be considered an enemy by association.
Starfleet and the Federation have at their disposal many advancements in technology,
not just militaristic but medical, agricultural and general shortcuts like replication, holosuits
and transporters and they preach cooperation and sharing this technology, but where were
they while Bajor was under Cardassian Occupation?
The Prime Directive forbid their interference.
Sure Bajor ended up benefiting from the Federation’s assistance after their culture had been irreparably
damaged by the boot of its occupiers, but they ended up a UFP member so the Federation
could be seen to simply be serving in its own interests.
The Federation offers up humanitarian aid routinely but will also stand by and watch
entire civilizations potentially die off if they don’t meet the standards for intervention.
Either way, could you do that?
Stand by and watch as a species suffered through a crisis while you had the means to help them.
On the flip side, you may not want to render aid to another species but due to the Federations
increasingly complicated and flexible-when-it-suits-them humanitarian laws you are forced to, your
planet’s resources diverted to a relief effort that is beyond your control.
Or perhaps you’ll simply have to give up your own land to the enemy as part of some
peace treaty.
This is what happened to the Marquis, federation citizens who were forced to concede their
entire planets to Cardassian control at the end of the Boarder Wars.
Despite Starfleet having rules against forced relocation, this was in essence what it was
suggesting the colonists do.
Their complaints fell on deaf ears and in the end they rebelled against the UFP.
They were then disowned by Starfleet entirely and branded traitors, engaging in their own
campaign to liberate their homes from Cardassian control.
Many of the Maquis are able to wage this gruella war because they were Starfleet officers who
defected.
This proves one thing, despite the unity and harmony that the Federation ideals present,
its people, on the ground level, are just as divided as any.
Many of the criteria for joining the United Federation of Planets encourage diversity,
but the fear of losing one’s cultural identity is still a very real one.
Sure, the UFP doesn’t force homogenisation but by its nature as an interplanetary alliance,
there’s going to be an exchange of societies, goods, and ideas and some cultural contamination
is inevitable.
Not saying that this is a good or a bad thing in of itself but perhaps simply an unforeseen
or unwanted side-effect.
A planet’s culture too may not be adaptable enough for the Federation who frowns upon
any caste based societal structure, even if it is integral to your way of life.
This would bar you from membership in the UFP altogether.
Your culture’s philosophies may simply be incompatible with those of the Federation.
Just ask the Klingons.
Their civilization is thousands of years old and they are regulated by their 24 great houses,
a caste based system that has regulated their aggressive behaviour throughout history…
and saying that… look at their territory compared to the size of the Federation’s!
One species compared to 183 working in unison.
Same with the Romulans, the Cardassians and many other races.
These other powers all are as expansive as they are due to their “top dog” mentality
of expansion.
The Romulan’s have established an Empire beginning with the oppression of the Remen
People but its no nonsense attitude and extensive intelligence network have allowed it to expand
through political leverage and military might.
The Cardassian Union pushes ever outward, its state-first mentality indoctrinating and
controlling.
And the Klingons are a culture of warriors, they always seek challenge which leads them
to naturally expand, however they are surprisingly adept at diplomacy when needed.
All of these represent alternative methods of expansion based on radically different
philosophies and one of these methods may better suit a rising power than often bureaucratic
Federation.
Working together for a common goal of betterment may be a noble cause, but when doing so involves
juggling the wants and needs of 183 species and over 7000 other homeworlds, making your
voice heard can often take considerable effort and sometimes it’s quicker to go it alone.
For all its utopian ideals, the United Federation of Planets is flawed.
While it never is downright oppressive it’s diversity brings with it multitude of cultures
and facets, each an individual shard.
But like glass, you can fit the pieces together, but the divides remain.
When you look into the cracks, you’ll see all sorts of inadequacies, like those that
led to the formation of the Maquis, and contradictions.
Thing is, each species has its needs dealt with in its own way and this mains that such
hypocrisy is often necessary to maintain order.
It’s a complicated, nuanced, messy affair and at the end of the day, your species or
planet may simply want to go it alone.
To explore space for yourself, to tackle the challenges of the final frontier in all their
forms without worrying about interference from some vastly removed power whose concerns
are often tied up in maintaining its own tangled web.
Thanks for listening, as I’ve already said, I personally think that the pros of the UFP
outweigh its faults, but can see why other species may choose to stand back from the
organisation.
And that’ll about wrap it up, sorry for the delay, I know I said a couple of days
but I wasn’t satisfied with the original script and I had to rewrite it, but thanks
for being patient, and until the next video, I leave you with a question, if the Federation
was not an option, then which species would you join or establish ties with if any?
Because I really struggled to find an answer to this one.
Thanks again, and goodbye.