United Federation of Planets

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Revision as of 17:59, February 20, 2008

For other meanings of Federation, please see Federation (disambiguation).

The Great Seal of the United Federation of Planets

"A dream that became a reality and spread throughout the stars." - Captain James T. Kirk

The United Federation of Planets (commonly referred to as The Federation) was an interstellar federal republic, composed of planetary governments that agreed to exist semi-autonomously under a single central government, and to share their knowledge and resources in peaceful cooperation and space exploration (DS9: "Battle Lines"; VOY: "Innocence").

Anthem of the United Federation of Planets (Listen^file info)

Size and Location

The Flag of the United Federation of Planets

The Federation was located in the Alpha Quadrant of the Milky Way Galaxy. By the early 2370s, the Federation's territory was spread across 8000 light years, with a membership of over 150 worlds and over 1,000 semi-autonomous colonies (DS9: "Battle Lines"; VOY: "Innocence"; Star Trek: First Contact). Its major neighboring sovereignties were the Klingon Empire, the Romulan Star Empire, the Cardassian Union, and the Ferengi Alliance. Other neigboring sovereignties were the Tzenkethi, the Tholian Assembly, the Breen Confederacy and the Xindi.

Government

Seal of the President of the United Federation of Planets

The Federation's government was a representative republic, headquartered on Earth. (TOS: "Amok Time"; DS9: "Rapture"; VOY: "In the Flesh"; Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home). The government consisted of three branches: the executive, legislative, and judicial branches.

The Executive

The executive branch was responsible for the day-to-day management of the Federation. The elected Federation President (DS9: "Paradise Lost") was the head of this branch (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home). The Federation President was simultaneously the head of state and head of government; as chief executive officer of the government, the President determined most of the Federation's foreign policy, managed budgetary concerns, and served as supreme commander of the Federation's military forces.(Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country) The President's office was located in the Earth city of Paris on the European continent. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

The Legislature

The Federation Council was the unicameral legislature of the Federation. (TOS: "Amok Time") Composed of representatives from the various Member States, DS9: "Rapture", the Federation Council held the power to create, amend, and ratify Federation law. (TNG: "Force of Nature") The Federation Council, in conjunction with the President, also held a great deal of influence over Federation Starfleet operations, sometimes serving as the judging body of special courts-martial (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home), and on other occasions issuing operational orders to Starfleet ({{TNG|The Defector}). The Council also held influence over Federation foreign policy. (DS9: "The Way of the Warrior", DS9: "For the Cause") In 2286, the Federation Council met in San Francisco on the North American continent. (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home)

The Judiciary

The judiciary was the branch of the Federation's government which was responsible for the administration of justice in the name of the state according to Federation law. Its highest level was the Federation Supreme Court. (DS9: "Doctor Bashir, I Presume")

Constitutional Law

The Federation Constitution incorporated a series of enumerated rights (TNG: "The Drumhead" to which all sentient beings were regarded as being entitled (TNG: "The Perfect Mate"), collectively referred to as the Guarantees. The Seventh Guarantee of the Federation Constitution protected individuals from self-incrimination (TNG: "The Drumhead"), while the Twelfth Guarantee protected the rights of artists. (VOY: "Author, Author")

Executive Agencies

The United Federation of Planets possessed a number of executive agencies in its administration of its region of space.

• Archaeological Council
• Astronomical Committee
• Bureau of Agricultural Affairs
• Bureau of Industrialization
• Bureau of Planetary Treaties
• Central Bureau of Penology
• Department of Cartography
• Department of Temporal Investigations
• Earth Broadcasting Company
• Naval Patrol
• News Network
• News Service
• Science Council
• Science Bureau
• Starfleet
• Terraform Command
• United Earth Space Probe Agency (UESPA) (Existed from the 21st and at least into the 23rd century)

In addition, at least one rogue agency is known to have operated in the name of the Federation. (DS9: "Inquisition")

The exact nature of the government of the Federation has never been made clear onscreen. From the information available, and in particular from the very name of the state, the United Federation of Planets would appear to practice federalism, the division of authority between a central government and partially autonomous local governments that do not derive their right to exist from the central government. The exact division of powers between the Federation and Member State governments is unknown, though the Federation government clearly possessed the authority to make Federation-wide law (TNG: "Force of Nature") and to override local governance and declare martial law on a Member State's territory (DS9: "Homefront"). The Federation Emblem is clearly based upon the Flag of the United Nations, though the Federation, unlike the UN, constitutes a genuine government with a monopoly on the legitimate use of force.

Economy

The Federation's economy was built around the large scale, inexpensive production of almost all consumer goods. The driving force of the Federation's economy was the ensuring of a comfortable standard of living for all Federation citizens, rather than the acquisition of personal wealth. (Star Trek: First Contact) Money as understood by the inhabitants of the 20th Century was quite rare. (TNG: "The Neutral Zone" However, there was a basic unit of exchange called the Federation credit, which was used in some transactions. (TOS: "Errand of Mercy", et al.) Member worlds who possessed resources unavailable elsewhere were obligated to provide consignments of these resources in times of emergency. (TOS: "The Cloud Minders")

Membership

Admittance into the Federation was either by invitation or successful petition of a foreign state desirous of joining. In the second case, membership was granted only upon satisfaction of certain requirements. Firstly, the state's government submitted an official petition to the Federation Council, outlining its desire to join. A lengthy, thorough investigation of the state's culture followed. This investigation could take several years, and was done to ascertain whether or not the culture genuinely shared the values of the Federation: values of benevolence, peaceful co-existence and co-operation, the rule of law, and equal rights and justice. (DS9: "Rapture"; TNG: "Attached")

Even before the investigation, the potential Member State had to meet certain requirements. These were as follows:

• It had to have an "advanced level of technology." The Federation's baseline definition of this term is the capability for faster-than-light space travel.
• Its government had to have achieved stable planetary political unity, respecting the rights of the individual. (TNG: "The Hunted", "Attached")
• No form of caste discrimination was to be practiced. (DS9: "Accession")

History

Main article: Federation history

The Federation was founded in San Francisco, Earth in 2161. (TNG: "The Outcast"; ENT: "Zero Hour", "These Are the Voyages...") The seeds of the Federation were planted during a temporary alliance in 2154, in the search for a Romulan drone ship. It was this that first brought together the four species that would found the Federation: Humans, Vulcans, Andorians, and Tellarites. (ENT: "United") After the crisis, these four species remained together, founding the precursor to the Federation, called the Coalition of Planets, a year later. Other species soon joined: the Denobulans, the Rigelians, the Coridanites, and several others. (ENT: "Demons") Over the next several years, the ties between the members of the Coalition strengthened and became more structured, until, finally, in 2161, the Coalition became the Federation. (ENT: "These Are the Voyages...")

Although the Federation's intentions were peaceful, around it were other, more belligerent powers such as the Klingon and Romulan Empires. As it expanded through the admittance of more and more worlds, it came into conflict with these powers. In the 23rd century, its main adversary was the Klingon Empire, with war briefly erupting between the two in 2267, before being halted by the Organians. (TOS: "Errand of Mercy") However, tensions eased considerably towards the end of the century, with the Khitomer Conference of 2293 being a substantial turning point. (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country) This conference saw the signing of to the Khitomer Accords, which effectively ended hostile relations.

As the 24th century started, the Federation began an unprecedented period of peaceful exploration of the galaxy, free of major conflicts, as its main adversary of the previous century, the Klingon Empire, was now at peace with it. However, relations with the Romulans remained hostile, albeit at a low, 'cold war' level. There was also a series of local conflicts in the late 2340s, as the Federation came into contact with other militant races such as the Cardassians, the Talarians, and the Tholians.

Then, however, the period of peaceful exploration came to an abrupt end. In 2365, the Federation encountered its single worst threat in the cybernetic pseudo-race known as the Borg. One of the most powerful and destructive forces in the entire galaxy, the Borg twice invaded the Federation and were only foiled by chance and Human resourcefulness. The Federation learned that, in the vast, unexplored reaches of the galaxy beyond what they knew, there were threats that they could not even imagine. (TNG: "Q Who", "The Best of Both Worlds", "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II"; Star Trek: First Contact)

Then, In 2370, contact was made with the Dominion, the predominant ruling power over much of the Gamma Quadrant. After numerous skirmishes, misfortunes suffered by the Cardassian Union allowed for their eventual incorporation into the Dominion, and the subsequent Dominion invasion of the Alpha Quadrant. The ensuing war was the greatest crisis to be faced by the Federation, with the Federation forming an alliance with the Klingons and Romulans to defeat the Dominion. Although the Alliance eventually emerged victorious, many of the Federation's important member worlds, such as Betazed, Coridan, and Benzar, had been temporarily occupied before the Dominion's offensive could be turned back. Thousands of starships and millions of lives were lost, in what was to be, as of the late 24th century, the bloodiest conflict in Federation history. (DS9: "By Inferno's Light" et. al.)

However, the war and its aftermath allowed the Federation to establish new relations with many of its former adversaries, the Romulans in particular. In 2379, cooperation took place between the crew of a Federation Starfleet vessel, the USS Enterprise-E, and Romulan forces to defeat the Romulan praetor Shinzon, whose actions would have destroyed both Earth and the Romulan Star Empire. It was hoped that this would mark the beginning of and end to hostility between the Federation and the Romulan Star Empire, marking the beginnings of détente with a traditional enemy of the Federation. (Star Trek Nemesis)

In at least one version of the 26th century, the Klingon Empire and races such as the Ithenites, and Xindi, joined the Federation. In the 2550s of this timeline, the Federation proved instrumental in halting an invasion of the galaxy by a power known as the Sphere Builders. This action caused the Sphere Builders to try to stop the Federation from ever being formed by manipulating the Xindi into attempting to destroy Earth in 2153. (ENT: "Azati Prime") By the timeline's 31st century, the Federation had become embroiled in the Temporal Cold War, attempting to maintain the integrity and outcome of its subjective history. (ENT: "Storm Front", "Storm Front, Part II")

References

• Federation members
• Federation colonies
• Battle of Wolf 359
• Battle of Sector 001
• Dominion War

External links

• United Federation of Planets at Wikipedia
• United Federation of Planets at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works