What did John Roddenberry say about the United Nations?
- Roddenberry spoke of the Federation as an idealized version of the United Nations, dedicated to propositions of liberty, equality, enlightenment and civilized resolution of conflict.
The Federation was born after nine months of planning and designing by ‘Star Trek’ creator Gene Roddenberry and Federation founder Russ Haslage. Haslage became a fan of the humanitarian message he saw in ‘Star Trek: The Motion Picture.’ After seeing the humanitarian message continuing in ‘Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,’ Haslage searched for a fan club.
Unable to find an organization that focused on the human condition in which Haslage was so interested, he decided to take a bold step and start his own. Wanting to do things right, he called Gene Roddenberry.
Throwing caution to the wind on that September day, Haslage called Paramount Pictures and asked to speak with Mr. Roddenberry. The switchboard put the call through.
Susan Sackett answered and explained that Roddenberry wasn’t in then and graciously took Haslage’s contact information.
“That has got to be the most polite corporate brushoff ever,” thought Haslage to himself after hanging up the telephone. Ten days later, Haslage got a call. It was Roddenberry.
“After what seemed like an eternity of stammering and stuttering, I was finally able to put together a complete and cohesieve sentence, explaining to Gene my fandom experience and interest,” reported Haslage. “Then I asked the big question. What do YOU think the ultimate ‘Star Trek’ fan club should do?”
Roddenberry replied,” What does the crew of the Enterprise do in every episode?” After almost an hour of coaching and teaching, Gene leads Haslage to the answer. “They go places and help people. That is what the ultimate Star Trek fan club should do.”
At that moment, The Federation was created. The organization would open its bay doors to fans on June 1, 1984 (opening night of ‘Star Trek III: The Search for Spock’).
Roddenberry continued as Executive Consultant to The Federation until he died in 1991.
Our Mission
The Federation was founded with a unique vision and a direct order. “Do what the crew of the Enterprise does in every episode. Go places and help people.” – Gene Roddenberry, 1983
Today’s world is filled with suffering. Hunger, hatred, greed, and poverty all take a toll. Climate change adds to the suffering. The Federation has taken a vow to help.
Our unique fan organization allows Star Trek fans to be a part of a community while allowing them to take their interest to a higher level by helping others.
Our Vision
We work hard today in the hopes that the future will be bright, as it is in the ‘Star Trek’ mythos. There may not be starships or Klingons, but perhaps mankind can find a time when everyone is of value, where we can work together, embrace our differences, and overcome all obstacles that cause suffering. Let’s find a bright future where everyone, and especially mankind as a whole, can reach its full potential.
**************************
What was Gene Roddenberry’s idea of the form of government of the TNG Federation?
Hello, I have a question.
I am trying to figure out how the United Federation of Planets is politically organized. However, I have come across contradictory information. Some say the Federation is an intergovernmental organization like the United Nations. Others say it is a military alliance like NATO. Still others say it is more like a federal republic, something between the European Union and the United States. I have even heard some people say that the Federation is more like a Communist state, like the Soviet Union or the People’s Republic of China.
How did Gene Roddenberry himself envision the form of government for the Federation? Specifically, I am interested as to how Gene Roddenberry envisioned the Federation at the time of The Next Generation because that was when Gene Roddenberry seemed to have the most control over production and thus could show his ideals the most.
Was it a multi-party democracy? A single-party state? Was it something like a de facto military dictatorship (Starfleet seems to have a lot of power in the Federation)? Is it a direct democracy like Ancient Athens? Is it more like a federal presidential constitutional republic, like the United States? Is it a military alliance like NATO? Is it an AIocracy (a government ruled by AI), like seen in Iain M. Bank’s Culture series? Is it a humanocentric ethnic democracy, where humans dominate the values and policies?
What do you think?
Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thank you. =).
P.S. If you could provide primary sources, like quotes that Roddenberry himself said, that would be very appreciated. Thank you.
Creating the Federation
https://forgottentrek.com/the-original-series/creating-the-federation/
The Federation is mentioned for the first time in the episode “Arena” of The Original Series, but it remained ill-defined for a long time. Episodes in Season 2 would refer to an Earth Federation (“Friday’s Child”) and a Federation of Planets (“A Piece of the Action”). The United Federation of Planets was first mentioned in “A Taste of Armageddon” — although Gene Lyons’ character, Ambassador Robert Fox, also refers to a Federation Central in that episode when “Amok Time” had already established the existence of a Federation Council.
Both “Arena” and “A Taste of Armageddon” were written by Gene L. Coon, whom William Shatner credits in his book Star Trek Memories with injecting the concepts of the Federation, Starfleet and Starfleet Command into the show.
The Federation was portrayed as devoted to peace and exploration. “We live in peace with the full exercise of individual rights,” Kirk says in “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield.” He describes the Federation more poetically in “Whom Gods Destroy”:
A dream that became a reality and spread throughout the stars.
We learn that the Federation is committed to upholding the autonomy of all planets, members or not. In “The Cloud Minders,” class segregation still exists in a Federation world. In “Friday’s Child,” Kirk tells the leader of the non-member planet that the “highest” Federation law “states that your world is yours and will always remain yours.” The Prime Directive, another Coon creation mentioned for the first time in “The Return of the Archons,” prohibits interference in the natural development of pre-warp civilizations. It is sometimes called General Order 1 or the Non-Interference Directive — and Kirk routinely violates it.
The inspiration was the United States, a federation itself with a historically weak central government and founded, like the Federation of Star Trek, on principles of self-determination and self-government. Lane Crothers argues in “From the United States to the Federation of Planets: Star Trek and the Globalization of American Culture,” published in Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek: The Original Cast Adventures, that the Vulcan philosophy of “Infinitive Diversity in Infinite Combinations” was “an updating of the United States motto, e pluribus unum: out of many, one.”
The only time a United Federation of Planets logo, or a pennant, was seen in The Original Series was in “And the Children Shall Lead.”
The Original Series did not have the budget to regularly feature non-human-looking members of the Federation other than the Vulcans.
“Journey of Babel” introduced two new species that would live large in the imagination of fans: Andorians and Tellarites. Trekkers long speculated that both must have been founding members of the Federation. This wasn’t confirmed until the fourth season of Star Trek: Enterprise.
Writer Mike Sussman, a longtime Star Trek fan, recalled in a 2015 interview with Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection that Producer Brannon Braga had called him to ask which races created the Federation.
What flipped through my mind was that it had never been established, but there had been a lot of fan speculation going back to “Journey to Babel” that many of those races … were among the founding members. For that quarter of a second I’m thinking, “What do I tell him? If I say it’s never been decided, he might make up a couple of new races and that might set certain people off.” So I basically lied to him and said, “Oh yeah, it’s Andorians and Tellarites.” He put it in the script and now it’s canon!
Franz Joseph’s Star Fleet Technical Manual (1975), Star Trek: Star Charts (2002), and a newspaper clipping created for Picard’s family album in Star Trek Generations mention Alpha Centauri as the fifth founding state. Since the text wasn’t legible on screen, however, fans debate whether this should be treated as canon or not.
Movie era
Star Trek: The Motion Picture introduced the Federation emblem that would be used, in numerous variations, throughout the rest of the franchise.
Visit Ex Astris Scientia to learn more about the evolution of the Federation emblem.
The movies also revealed more about the inner workings of the Federation.
The Federation Council is seen in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, where it meets in San Francisco to court-martial Kirk and his crew for stealing the Enterprise.
We may assume that wasn’t the full council, but rather a committee overseeing Starfleet. That would explain why it met in San Francisco in a building that would appear as Starfleet Headquarters in The Next Generation, and it would explain the presence of so many Starfleet officers. (Active-duty personnel surely wouldn’t be allowed to serve as lawmakers while veterans wouldn’t wear their uniforms in civilian roles.)
The Voyage Home also established the existence of a Federation president, whose role was further defined in Star Trek VI as well as the episodes “Homefront” and “Paradise Lost” of Deep Space Nine. The inspiration was again America. The Federation president is simultaneously chief executive of the government, top diplomat and supreme military commander; a lot of power for one person in an alliance spanning 8,000 lightyears (according to Picard in First Contact) and members with wildly different cultures, norms and forms of government.
The Federation of the movies wasn’t perfect. In The Undiscovered Country, Azetbur (Rosana DeSoto), the daughter of the Klingon chancellor, calls it “a homo sapiens-only club.” The preponderance of humans in Federation service is clearly not an accident. The Enterprise crew are openly racist toward the Klingons to the point where Nichelle Nichols refused to say two lines. One, “Guess who’s coming to dinner?”, was given to Walter Koenig. The other, “Would you like your daughter to marry one?”, was dropped from the film.
The Next Generation
Roddenberry portrayed a more confident and prosperous Federation in The Next Generation, one that was at peace with Kirk’s enemies, the Klingons and Romulans, but also one whose attitudes could border on the arrogant.
The Starfleet of the twenty-fourth century was so committed to the Prime Directive that Picard was willing to let entire civilizations perish in “Homeward” and “Pen Pals” to avoid intervention.
It took two new adversaries, the Cardassians and the Borg, to shake the Federation’s high-mindedness. Conflict with both races gave the show some of its best episodes: “Q Who”, “The Best of Both Worlds”, “Chain of Command”.
After Roddenberry’s death in 1991, The Next Generation darked to explore the darker side of paradise. It showed a renegade Starfleet captain in “The Wounded”, who could not put the war with the Cardassians behind him. It introduced the Maquis, who rebelled against the Federation for signing a peace with Cardassia that left their worlds on the wrong side of the new border. And it explored Picard’s trauma from his assimilation by the Borg in “Family” and First Contact.
The Next Generation gave the impression of a more sprawling Federation, but it revealed only a little more about its politics and laws. A right against self-incrimination, the Seventh Guarantee of the Constitution of the Federation, is mentioned in “The Drumhead”. Picard says in “Attached” that every member of the Federation entered as a unified world, but that episode’s debate about whether to admit one of Kesprytt III’s two nations suggests this might be a convention rather than law.
Deep Space Nine
The fallibilities and shortcomings The Next Generation had hinted at became the backbone of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
“Anything where we can have Federation people acting in ways that the Federation doesn’t advise or support is interesting to me,” Executive Producer Ira Steven Behr told Cinefantastique in 1994.
To stay true to Roddenberry’s vision, the show often used the Bajorans and the Ferengi to tell stories about human weakness. (See Creating the Ferengi.) But just like The Undiscovered Country had brought human racism toward Klingons to light, Starfleet personnel on Deep Space Nine could act superior toward both aliens: the Bajorans for their superstitions, the Ferengi for their greed.
The show also didn’t shy away from putting its Federation characters to the test.
The early seasons made eager use of the Maquis. “This turned out to provide a wealth of story material for us on DS9 in the second half of the second season,” Michael Piller, one of the series’ co-creators, told Captains’ Logs Supplemental – The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages.
Writer Ronald D. Moore said in an AOL chat in 1997 that despite the Federation’s justification for hunting the Maquis — their raids on Cardassians put the peace treaty at risk — “Eddington’s statement [in “For the Cause”], that the real problem is that the Maquis have left the Federation and that no one leaves the Federation, has more than a kernel of truth in it. There’s a sense of betrayal associated with the Maquis in the minds of the people in the Federation, regardless of whether that’s an irrational feeling or not.”
The Dominion, and their Changeling Founders, posed an even greater threat. Fear of imposters led to random blood tests, an infraction of civil liberties only Sisko’s father (played by Brock Peters, who ironically also portrayed one of the admirals who plotted to scuttle a peace deal with the Klingons in Star Trek VI) complains about in “Homefront”.
Even though that episode, and “Paradise Lost”, showed a Starfleet coup against the Federation’s civilian government, trust in authority never seems to wane. Although we mostly see events through the eyes of Starfleet personnel.
The original plan was for the story to take an even worse turn. Vulcan was meant to secede amid fears of Dominion infiltration, almost triggering a Federation civil war.
Moore is quoted in Captains’ Logs Supplemental calling the two-parter “Homefront” and “Paradise Lost” an important show that demonstrated even the best of governments need to be watched.
Robert Hewitt Wolfe, who wrote the episodes together with Behr, is quoted in the same book as saying:
If the United States became a fascist state to fight fascism, would that be worth it? I would say no and most Americans would say no, and that’s a special thing about the United States and a special thing about the Federation. We really wanted to explore the idea of whether or not you would destroy the village in order to save it. We know that the Star Trek answer is no.
Behr was emphatic that, despite all the challenges Deep Space Nine threw at it, the Federation at its core hadn’t changed. “Rick Berman felt very strongly that it is basically a trading alliance,” he told the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion. “A lot of people think of the Federation in basically military terms, but that’s not really what it is.”
Sources: Paula Block and Terry J. Erdmann, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion (2000); Lane Crothers, “From the United States to the Federation of Planets: Star Trek and the Globalization of American Culture,” in Douglas Brode and Shea T. Brode, Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek: The Original Cast Adventures (2015) 63-72; Edward Gross and Mark A. Altman, Captains’ Logs Supplemental – The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages (1996); Jörg Hillebrand, Brad Wilder and Bernd Schneider, “The Evolution of the Federation Emblem,” Ex Astris Scientia; William Shatner, Star Trek Memories (1995); and “The Return of the Andorians,” Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection 37 (January 7, 2015) 15. Screenshots by Ex Astris Scientia and Trekcore.
Published Sep 14, 2019 Nick OttensBack to The Original Series, The Motion Picture, Feature Films, The Next Generation, Deep Space NineMore Writing
4 comments
I’ve got to wonder, since we never saw a “dress uniform” for the TOS movie era, and since the double breasted jacket is obviously somewhat ornamental, with security and engineers wearing more comfortable and appropriate duty uniforms, if the admiral’s jacket actually becomes a dress uniform of sorts for these events.
It’s got its gold trim, many medals and special insignia. I don’t know how common it is in the USA, but in the UK it is fairly common for retired military officers to retain their dress uniform to wear in place of a civilian informal suit or formal tuxedo at events.
That’s how I had always read the scene personally, that they were old retired admirals who took the chance to show off all of their commendations on their arm and chest at council events. But of course that’s just headcanon, as it would be just as appropriate for a court martial to actually involve serving admiralty and not the civilian side of the council at all.
Katelyn (Sep 15, 2019)
I think the court martial or some sort of mixed Federation Council/Starfleet Command committee still makes the most sense.
The Federation is modeled on the United States in a lot of ways. Retired US military officers have frequently served, and still serve, in the US government. They don’t wear their old uniforms.
Which goes to another argument against the assumption: even more than in Earth countries today, one would expect the Federation of the twenty-fourth century to strictly separate military from civilian.
Nick Ottens (Sep 15, 2019)
Also worth noting that Brock Peters who played Admiral Cartwright struggled with the tone of The Undiscovered Country as well. It was the line “bring them to their knees” that he found most troubling and the overall treatment of Klingons that mirrored how Black people have been historically treated.
Justin Laffoon (Jan 17, 2020)
I had always seen the Federation as modeled after but also learning from mistakes of the US. The Prime Directive seems like a major course correction when you look at US foreign policy that decides how to treat other nations based on shared values, resources they want, or comparative size/military might. As a non-American, it’s something I like about the Federation.
J.D. (April 3, 2021)
How Star Trek’s Federation Evolved From Just a United Earth
BY JOSHUA M. PATTON
PUBLISHED AUG 11, 2023 ~ cbr.com/star-trek-federation-united-earth-evolution-explained/
When Gene Roddenberry created Star Trek, the Enterprise was a United Earth starship. The show’s second most famous Gene formed the Federation later.
Star Trek is the definitive aspirational science fiction series. However, the allegorical institution representing universal cooperation — the United Federation of Planets — was a late addition, replacing the “United Earth” space force envisioned by creator Gene Roddenberry. One of the most important elements in the franchise’s lore came from the man known as “Star Trek‘s other Gene.”
Strange New Worlds Season 2 featured an alternate timeline Captain Kirk, who served in the United Earth Fleet. The name is a callback to the early episodes of The Original Series, when Roddenberry and his writers were still figuring out the lore. In 1966, Roddenberry brought in experienced television writer and television producer Gene L. Coon to help. Coon was the first person to name-drop “the Federation” in an episode, taking Roddenberry’s hopeful aspirations for humanity’s future and applying them to the whole galaxy.
RELATED:Strange New Worlds Just Solved Star Trek’s Oldest Mystery
How Gene L. Coon Invented Star Trek’s United Federation of Planets
For much of Star Trek‘s first 30 years, the Federation was ill-defined. Early The Original Series episodes included Earth outposts and space colonies. Roddenberry’s goal was to present a diverse, progressive future where the petty conflicts of humanity were resolved. Primarily for budgetary reasons, Spock was the only non-human crew member on the Enterprise. So in order to examine real-world political turmoil, Coon created the United Federation of Planets — a galactic allegory to the United Nations. It was Coon’s greatest contribution from a long list of ideas he deployed to make the series great.
Coon was responsible for injecting humor into Star Trek, specifically the friendly rivalry between Spock and Dr. McCoy. But more importantly, Roddenberry fully endorsed Coon’s idea of the Federation. It allowed him to continue with the idea that humanity had worked out its cultural conflicts. Yet it also meant the show could still have episodes such as Season 2’s “Journey to Babel,” which highlighted internal turmoil like the tension between the Andorians and the Tellurites. The Federation would eventually evolve into the perfect system of government, with Starfleet serving as its benevolent enforcers.
RELATED:How Fans Saved The Star Trek Franchise, Then Almost Killed It
How the Federation Evolved From The Next Generation to Strange New Worlds
Gene L. Coon died in 1973, just before the Emmy-winning Star Trek: The Animated Series started the franchise’s revival. But in that series, Roddenberry took Coon’s Federation idea and ran with it. The cartoon included more alien members, since animation allowed for more creative freedom than live action. And by the time of The Next Generation, Roddenberry envisioned the Federation to be just as problem-free as his previous United Earth. That hampered the early writing, especially since then-head writer Maurice Hurley didn’t believe in Roddenberry’s vision like Coon did. After Roddenberry’s death, other Star Trek storytellers began the deconstruction of this utopian system — while still keeping both Genes’ goals for it alive.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was the first Trek series to emphasize that the Federation — or at least Starfleet — was not perfect. Later, Star Trek: Discovery devoted two seasons to highlighting gaps in the Federation’s positive influence. However, stories about franchise heroes using the Genes’ values to make Starfleet and the Federation better became the modern way to preach the gospel of Star Trek. The idea of striving to make an imperfect system of government into a “more perfect union” is as powerful and relevant as ever. Coon and Roddenberry saw the Federation as their wish for humanity’s future. Current Star Trek shows have kept that wish alive by telling stories reflective of modern attitudes about institutions.
Star Trek historian and author Larry Nemecek told Trek News that Coon “was the driving force for a good chunk of…what we love about Star Trek.” The Federation represents, on all levels, that the Star Trek story continues to grow and evolve without ever losing the idealistic vision that Gene Roddenberry and Gene Coon had for it. From a united Earth to a united Federation, the hope remains the same almost 60 years later.
Related Topics
About The Author
Joshua M. Patton(1155 Articles Published)
Father of a brilliant Gen Z kid, Army combat veteran, and storyteller born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA, A cunning warrior, the best star-pilot in the galaxy, and a good friend. Approaches his work as an entertainment critic keeping in mind the word doesn’t mean “be critical” but rather encourages us to “think critically.” He collects books (to read) and models of every starship Enterprise (to gaze upon lovingly.) The first volume of his collection of literary short stories written in the comic book tradition, TALES OF ADVENTURE & FANTASY, is available for purchase on Amazon in both print and ebook. Infinite diversity in infinite combinations, but the inertial dampers are always failing. He is one with the Force, and the Force is with him.
United Federation of Planets
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Some of this article’s listed sources may not be reliable. Please help this article by looking for better, more reliable sources. Unreliable citations may be challenged or deleted. (October 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) |
| United Federation of Planets | |
|---|---|
| The flag of the United Federation of Planets | |
| Universe | Star Trek |
| In-universe information | |
| Other name(s) | UFPThe Federation |
| Type | Representative Republic |
| Founded | 2161 |
| Leader | Federation President |
| Enemies | Romulans (later allies)Klingons (later allies)BorgThe DominionVarious |
| Capital and Branches | Paris, European Alliance (Federation Capital), San Francisco (Starfleet Command), New York City (Capital of United Earth) Earth, Sol System, Sector 001, Alpha Quadrant |
| Currency | Federation Credit for external trade, society operates without currency |
| Affiliation | StarfleetVarious |
In the fictional universe of Star Trek the United Federation of Planets (UFP) is the interstellar government with which, as part of its space force Starfleet, most of the characters and starships of the franchise are affiliated. Commonly referred to as “the Federation“, it was introduced in the original Star Trek television series. The survival, success, and growth of the Federation and its principles of freedom have become some of the Star Trek franchise‘s central themes.
The Federation is an organization of numerous planetary sovereignties, including Earth and Vulcan. The franchise focuses on Starfleet, the exploration and defence arm of the Federation, rather than the government. Viewers are rarely given details of the internal workings of the government; however, many episodes refer to the rules and laws that the Federation imposes on the characters and their adventures.
Development[edit]
Early in the first season of Star Trek, Captain Kirk had said the Enterprise‘s authority came from the United Earth Space Probe Agency.[1] Bases visited in the series were labeled “Earth Outposts”.[2] In August 1966, Gene L. Coon was hired by Gene Roddenberry as a writer for Star Trek. Actor William Shatner credits Coon with injecting the concepts of Starfleet, Starfleet Command and the United Federation of Planets into the show.[3] One of the first teleplays Coon was credited with was “A Taste of Armageddon“, where an ambassador on the Enterprise is referred to as a Federation official.
Eventually, the series became an allegory for the current events of the 1960s counterculture,[4] placing great emphasis on an anti-war message and depicting the United Federation of Planets, a vast interstellar alliance founded on the enlightened principles of liberty, equality, justice, progress, and peaceful co-existence, as an idealistic version of the United Nations.[5]
Reception[edit]
The optimistic view of the future present in the Federation has been highlighted as unique among most science fiction, showing how “evolved” and “civilized” the future could conceivably be.[6] Much debate has centered on how the materialist application of a post-scarcity economy in the Federation is incompatible with its own idealist ethics.[7] It has been described, along with the series as a whole, as a vehicle to explore what it means to be human, as well as exploring mankind’s efforts to build a better society.[8] Other writers have noted that Star Trek‘s Federation has the same logistical and philosophical difficulties of other utopian economic and political schemes that make it seem unrealistic.[9]
In 2020, Screen Rant noted the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “First Contact” for exploring the United Federation of Planets and how it sometimes struggles with contact with aliens.[10]
In-universe portrayal[edit]
Like many things in Star Trek, episodes and films may reference entities or laws within the Federation, but viewers are never given a broad view of its inner workings. Many contemporary terms are assigned to the Federation, but parallels to current government bodies and their roles and responsibilities are pure speculation on the part of fans and critics.[11]
In the timeline of Star Trek, the Federation was founded in 2161,[12] after the events of Star Trek: Enterprise but before those of the other series in the franchise. Its founding members were Earth, Vulcan, Andoria, and Tellar. Over time it has expanded to include many more worlds through peaceful voluntary association. Some notable ones include Trill, Betazed, and Bolarus IX. References to the size of the Federation vary, with Captain Kirk stating in 2267 that humanity was on “a thousand planets and spreading out”,[13] while Captain Picard referred to the Federation (in 2373) as being made up of “over one hundred and fifty” planets, spread across 8,000 light-years.[14] The Federation is a major galactic power, and at various times has been at war with other powers such as the Klingons, the Romulans and the Dominion. The Federation’s space force is called Starfleet, and, although most of Star Trek depicts peaceful exploration of the galaxy, Starfleet is also capable of considerable military might. Section 31 is a paramilitary espionage agency, described by writer Ira Steven Behr as “…doing the nasty stuff that no one wants to think about.”.[15]
The Federation is depicted as a democratic republic, led by a President based in Paris on Earth.[16] Presidential powers include issuing pardons[17] and declaring states of emergency.[18] This president is supported by a cabinet.[19] The Federation also has a supreme court[20] and a legislature, the Federation Council, with delegates from its various member worlds.[21] A constitution and a charter have both been referred to as founding documents of the Federation.
Several planets are shown to desire Federation membership. Joining the Federation is a complicated process, and requires meeting various criteria. Disqualifying criteria include caste-based discrimination[22] and violations of sentient rights.[23] A single, unified government is not required for admission, but is desirable.[24] Most Starfleet personnel are Federation citizens. Non-citizens can join Starfleet, but the process is more difficult,[25] as with all non-Federation races.
The Federation’s counterpart in the Mirror Universe is the Terran Empire, a human-dominated authoritarian state which has formed an empire by conquest.
Future of the Federation[edit]
In the Short Treks episode “Calypso”, taking place at an unknown time in the distant future, the character of Craft refers to the “V’draysh”. Little is said about the V’draysh, except that it is at war with Alcor IV, and that the V’draysh people are searching for artifacts from ancient human history. The writer of this episode, Michael Chabon, stated that the name “V’draysh” is intended to be a syncope for the word “Federation”.[26]
In the 32nd century setting of the third season of Star Trek: Discovery, the Federation had undergone a near-total collapse precipitated by “The Burn”, a galaxy-wide disaster. This shrunk the Federation from a peak of 350 worlds to just 38, notably excluding both Earth and Ni’Var (formerly known as Vulcan). During the fourth season, the Federation is in the process of rebuilding itself; Starfleet Academy is reopened, new shipbuilding facilities are commissioned, and many former member worlds such as Trill, Ni’Var and Earth rejoin.
Non-canon references[edit]
In non-canon sources like the original 1975 Star Trek Star Fleet Technical Manual, Johnson’s Worlds of the Federation, and roleplaying games, the Federation’s five founding members were Earth (or Terra), Vulcan, Tellar, Andor, and Alpha Centauri. Some non-canon works assert that founding member Alpha Centauri is home to a human race (transplanted by the Preservers from classical third-century BC Greece) known as, variously, Centaurans, Centaurians, or Centauri.
The 1980-to-2188 historical guide Star Trek Spaceflight Chronology posits the Federation as being incorporated at ‘the first Babel Interplanetary Conference’ in 2087.
In books such as the Star Trek Star Fleet Technical Manual and the novel Articles of the Federation, the Federation’s founding document is the Articles of Federation.
References[edit]
- ^ “Tomorrow is Yesterday“
- ^ “Balance of Terror” and “Arena (Star Trek)“
- ^ “Gene L. Coon: The Man Who Made STAR TREK Worth Saving”. November 8, 2017.
- ^ Time (magazine)
- ^ “Woody Goulart » Gene Roddenberry”. October 31, 2011. Archived from the original on October 31, 2011. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
- ^ Saswato R. Das (June 23, 2011). “Astronomical!”. New York Times. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
- ^ Matthew Yglesias (November 18, 2013). “The Star Trek Economy: (Mostly) Post-Scarcity (Mostly) Socialism”. Slate Magazine. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
- ^ Matthew Yglesias (May 15, 2013). “I Boldly Went Where Every Star Trek Movie and TV Show Has Gone Before”. Slate Magazine. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
- ^ Joseph Gargiulo (October 17, 2015). “The utopian future of ‘Star Trek’ doesn’t work without extreme inequality and some slavery”. Business Insider. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
- ^ “The 15 Best Star Trek: TNG Episodes Of All Time”. ScreenRant. April 28, 2020. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
- ^ “Star Trek, Fandom, and Mythos: The Themed Convention | in Media Res”.
- ^ The Outcast (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
- ^ “Metamorphosis (Star Trek: The Original Series)“
- ^ Star Trek: First Contact
- ^ Erdmann, Terry J.; Block, Paula M. (August 2000). Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion. New York: Pocket Books. p. 551. ISBN 978-0-671-50106-8.
- ^ Star Trek IV and VI
- ^ Star Trek: Discovery Michael Burnham
- ^ As depicted in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and “Homefront“
- ^ “Extreme Measures (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)“
- ^ Doctor Bashir, I Presume?
- ^ Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
- ^ Accession (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)
- ^ The Hunted (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
- ^ “Attached” (The Next Generation)
- ^ In “Heart of Stone” the Ferengi Nog requires a letter of recommendation from a command-level Starfleet officer in order to apply for Starfleet academy
- ^ Michael Chabon confirms the word V’draysh is a syncope, Michael Chabon’s official Instagram page
