United Federation of Planets
From Memory Alpha, the free Star Trek reference.
- For other meanings of Federation, please see Federation (disambiguation).
- "A dream that became a reality and spread throughout the stars."
- - Captain James T. Kirk, (TOS: "Whom Gods Destroy")
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 (Listenfile info)
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[edit] Size and Location
The Federation was located in the Alpha Quadrant of the Milky Way Galaxy. By the early 2370s, the Federation's territory was spread across 8,000 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 neighboring sovereignties were the Tzenkethi, the Tholian Assembly, the Breen Confederacy and the Xindi.
[edit] Government
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, the legislature and the judiciary.
- The exact nature of the government of the Federation has never been made clear on screen. From the information available, the United Federation of Planets would appear to be a constitutional representative republic, similar to that of the United States, prior to the 1860s.
- The exact division of powers between the Federation government and the governments of its member worlds is unknown, though various episodes indicate the Federation placed great value on maintaining local sovereignty over local affairs. Member worlds were left to manage their own governance in accordance with their own traditions and local laws, so long as the general requirements of membership were met.
- However, Federation law did grant the government emergency authority to override local governance and declare martial law on a member's territory. (TNG: "Force of Nature"; DS9: "Homefront")
[edit] The executive
The executive branch was responsible for the day-to-day management of the Federation. The democratically-elected Federation President was the head of this branch. (DS9: "Paradise Lost"; Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home) The Federation President served as both 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)
[edit] The legislature
The Federation Council was the unicameral legislative body of the Federation. (TOS: "Amok Time") Composed of representatives from the various member worlds, the Federation Council held the power to create, amend, and ratify Federation law. (DS9: "Rapture"; TNG: "Force of Nature") The Federation Council also held a great deal of influence over the operations of the Federation's military service, the Federation Starfleet. It sometimes served as the judging body of specially-convened courts-martial, and on occasion issued operational orders to Starfleet. (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home; TNG: "The Defector") The Council also held influence over the making of Federation foreign policy. (DS9: "The Way of the Warrior", "For the Cause") The Council's meeting chamber was in the Earth city of San Francisco, on the west coast of the North American continent.
[edit] 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")
[edit] The Federation Constitution
The Federation Constitution incorporated a series of enumerated rights to which all sentient beings were regarded as being entitled, collectively referred to as the Guarantees. The Seventh Guarantee of the Federation Constitution protected individuals from self-incrimination, while the Twelfth Guarantee protected the rights of artists. (TNG: "The Drumhead", "The Perfect Mate"; VOY: "Author, Author")
[edit] Executive agencies
In addition to the government, the Federation also maintained a number of executive agencies that assisted in the administration of its affairs:
- 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
- Federation Naval Patrol
- Federation News Network
- Federation News Service
- Federation Science Council
- Federation Science Bureau
- Federation 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, known as Section 31, is known to have operated in the name of the Federation. (DS9: "Inquisition")
[edit] 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 was never used internally. (TNG: "The Neutral Zone") However, there was a basic unit of exchange called the Federation credit, which was used in transactions with non-Federation governments. (TOS: "Errand of Mercy", et al.) Federation member worlds who possessed resources unavailable elsewhere were obligated to provide consignments of these resources in times of emergency. (TOS: "The Cloud Minders")
- As with its government, little on-screen information was ever presented about the Federation's economy. However it bears resemblance to the socialist economic model of 20th century Earth economics. Federation Starfleet officer Lt. (JG) Thomas Eugene Paris referred to it as the New World Economy. (VOY: "Dark Frontier")
[edit] Membership
Admittance into the Federation was either by invitation or successful petition of a world or civilization desirous of joining. In the second case, membership was granted only upon satisfaction of certain requirements. Firstly, the government of the prospective member submitted an official petition to the Federation Council, outlining its desire to join. A lengthy, thorough investigation of the prospective member'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") For example, the discovery on the petitioning planet, Angosia III, of enhanced soldiers being unjustly indefinitely imprisoned without treatment in times of peace was considered unacceptable in Captain Jean-Luc Picard's official evaluation of the planet for the Federation. (TNG: "The Hunted")
Even before the investigation, the prospective member 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 was 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")
[edit] 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.
At the start of the 24th century, 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. They were unlike anything the Federation had ever encountered, and were only foiled by chance and Human resourcefulness. The Federation was thus schooled in the fact 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 Dominion/Cardassian forces were also joined by the reclusive but immensely powerful race known as the Breen. 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 Federation Starfleet vessels and millions of lives were lost, in what turned out be, as of the late 24th century, the bloodiest conflict in Federation history. (DS9: "By Inferno's Light" et al.) The most devastating and demoralizing offensive occurred in 2375, when the Breen hit the Federation at its heart, with a surprise attack on Starfleet Headquarters on Earth. (DS9: "The Changing Face of Evil")
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")
[edit] Appendices
[edit] Related topics
[edit] External links
- United Federation of Planets at Wikipedia
- United Federation of Planets at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
