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In the Star Trek fictional universe, the United Federation of Planets (UFP) – widely referred to and known amongst fans as merely the Federation – is a federal state of more than 150 member planets and thousands of colonies. It is the parent state of the Federation Starfleet.
The United Federation of Planets and its members hold massive territory in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants of the Milky Way Galaxy: as of 2373, the Federation spans some 8,000 light years (Star Trek: First Contact). Canonically, the Federation was founded in 2161 by the Andorians, Humans, Tellarites, and Vulcans; non-canonically, the founding member states are United Earth, the Andorian Empire, Vulcan, Tellar, and Alpha Centauri (which apparently became a soverign state after being a colony of United Earth during the early-to-mid 2150s).
The Federation stresses the values of universal liberty, equality, peace, and cooperation. Its federal governmental structure is similar to that of the United States, with executive, legislative and judicial branches. Its legislature is the Federation Council, headquartered in the Palais de la Concorde in Paris, France. In addition there are several other bodies of the Federation, some located in other cities. In 2286, the Council convened in a building located in San Francisco. The executive branch is headed by the Federation President, who also keeps his offices in the Palais. Judicial matters are sent to the Federation Supreme Court. Starfleet, headquartered at the Presidio in San Francisco, is the primary defence and exploration arm of the Federation.
The Palais is non-canonical, appearing in the novels A Time to Kill, A Time to Heal, A Time For War, A Time For Peace, Errand of Vengence: Seeds of Rage, and Articles of the Federation. In the film Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, the Federation Council building was depicted as being in San Francisco; however, the building was never established as the Council's permanent building, and so this can be reconciled with the non-canonical Palais de la Concorde. The Palais is said to be located on the site of the present-day Place de la Concorde. In addition, one must note the rather shoddy external aesthetic of the supposed Federation Council building depicted in Star Trek: IV, as it is hard to believe that the legislature of the United Federation of Planets, a quadrant spanning interstellar power, would be housed in such a building.
The Federation is chartered under a document known as the Articles of Federation. An important guiding principle - indeed, it is listed as General Order One in the list of Starfleet general orders - is the Prime Directive, which forbids any interference in the natural development of any pre-warp civilization. This is intended to prevent even well-intentioned Federation personnel from introducing changes which could destabilize or even destroy other cultures through interference. Other aspects of the Articles provide for rule of law, equality among individuals and protection of civil and creative liberties, which appears to be based on principles found in contemporary political theory.
The Federation has been opposed at various times by the Klingon Empire, the Romulan Star Empire, the Tholian Assembly, the Cardassian Union, the Tzenkethi, the Borg Collective, the Dominion, the Breen Confederacy, and the Sphere Builders; hostility has also existed with the Ferengi Alliance, the Sheliak Corporate, and the Talarian Republic, but it is unrevealed if any actual state of war with these species occurred. It seems, in fact, that the Federation has at one time or another been under hostile conditions with virtually every other major power in their vicinity.
History
22nd–23rd centuries
Although no single individual is responsible for the foundation of the United Federation of Planets, the exploratory vessel Enterprise NX-01 was a major catalyst. Under the command of Captain Jonathan Archer, it helped forge an alliance between the formerly belligerent Vulcan, Andorian, and Tellarite states, and forged a spirit of unity and cooperation in the Alpha Quadrant, culminating in a formal union in 2161. The Federation was formed largely out of the ashes of the Earth-Romulan War of the late 2150's ending in 2160, when the founding members saw the need for interstellar unity to prevent the horror of further war. Archer was one of the individuals who signed the Federation Charter, after giving a historic speech that was still being studied two centuries later. According to information seen on a viewscreen in a late episode of Star Trek: Enterprise, Jonathan Archer later became the Federation ambassador to Andor, a Federation Councillor, and President of the United Federation of Planets from 2184 to 2192.
Around 2221, tensions thickened between the UFP and the Klingon Empire. In 2266 the Organian Peace Treaty was signed which ended major engagements, but the two interstellar powers remained in a state of cold war with occasional skirmishes over the next couple of decades. In 2293 the Khitomer Accords were signed, effectively ending the war and ushering in seven decades of relative peace.
During the era of the original series, Captain James Kirk once noted that humanity was on "a thousand planets and spreading out"; however, this number apparently encompasses Earth's many off-Earth colonies and the various alien worlds on which humans can be found (just as non-humans have been depicted as residing on Earth) and should not be taken to mean that the Federation itself had a thousand members at that time. Considering that many of the Federation's other members have several interplanetary colonies just as Earth does, the full number of planets which the Federation encompasses may be impossible to determine; it is presumed that colony worlds are directly subsidiary to the planetary governments of their homeworlds (much like individual states/provinces in a nation), but this has never been clearly established.
Early-24th century
In 2311, the Tomed Incident occurred in which thousands of Federation civilians and Starfleet personnel died and Romulan outposts disappeared. The unrest was ended by the Treaty of Algeron which re-affirmed the Neutral Zone and prohibited Federation development of cloaking technology.
In 2344, the Romulan Star Empire launched an assault on the Klingon outpost at Narendra III, but the attack was thwarted by the USS Enterprise-C under the command of Captain Rachel Garrett (in an alternate timeline none of this happened and this had unforeseen consequences). Although the Enterprise-C was lost with all hands, the Klingons saw its destruction to save them as a brave and honourable deed, allowing the two powers to take the first steps toward a formal alliance.
Cardassian War
Federation contact with a race called the Cardassians resulted in an extended conflict. One incident in this conflict was the massacre of Federation civilians on Setlik III in 2347. A truce was reached and a Demilitarized Zone was formed in 2366. A number of Federation and Cardassian colonies found themselves situated within the other’s territory; an agreement was reached for the transfer of those colonies. However, some Federation colonists were opposed to the agreement and formed the Maquis, a rebel movement who resisted the Cardassians.
Mid-24th century
In 2365, the Federation had first formal contact with the Borg Collective, who threatened the existence of the Federation at the Battle of Wolf 359. Other events of this era include the Klingon Civil War, first contact with the Q, and various time travel incidents.
From 2373 to 2375, the Federation fought the Dominion War. This was by far the largest conflict the Federation had ever been involved in, allying with the Klingons and Romulans against the combined forces of the Dominion, the Cardassians, and Breen. The Federation alliance was victorious, but with substantial casualties on both sides.
In 2379, a Reman Praetor named Shinzon seized control of the Romulan Star Empire. The coup was defeated by the crew of the USS Enterprise-E, opening up the possibility of improved UFP/Romulan relations after over two centuries of tension. Though, this improved relationship came at a cost, the death of Shinzon may have created a power vacuum.
Possible future
Prominent in some timelines is the Temporal Cold War, waged on a number of fronts throughout time including the 28th and 31st centuries.
By the 2550s, the Klingons and possibly the Xindi join the Federation.
By the 29th Century, the Federation explores time as it once did space.
By the 31st Century, indications are that the Federation no longer exists in its current form, possibly having extended to include even more races.
Also, it may be observed that a fully-fledged deciding conflict between the Federation and the Borg is inevitable at some point in the future, simply due to the nature of the Borg and the importance of the Federation.
Economics
The Federation has largely been portrayed as a socialist utopia, a condition enabled by a state of abundance, most likely due to replicator technology which means everyone can generate their own resources and scarcity is virtually nonexistent. On Earth, war and poverty have been eliminated. Individuals strive for self-betterment rather than fiscal remuneration. This condition probably doesn’t extend to the outer reaches of the Federation, where substances such as latinum are used as currency on a somewhat ad hoc basis, and for the purpose of trade with other cultures.
Criticism
Although Star Trek is famed for its use of science fiction to criticize the human condition, the Federation, as the cultural backdrop of the Series' protagonists, has been largely exempt from this.
Maquis
Later seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation introduced the Maquis, a group of disaffected Federation colonists whose homes had been bartered to the Cardassian government in an armistice. The Maquis felt they had been abandoned to a totalitarian state by the Federation, and carried out guerrilla actions ostensibly in their self defense. In the episode "For the Cause", Michael Eddington, a member of this group provides a particularly scathing critique of the Federation's policies:
"Why is the Federation so obsessed about the Maquis? We've never harmed you. And yet we're constantly arrested and charged with terrorism, starships chase us through the Badlands, and our supporters are harassed and ridiculed. Why? Because we've left the Federation, and that's the one thing you can't accept. Nobody leaves paradise. Everyone should want to be in the Federation. Hell, you even want the Cardassians to join. You're only sending them replicators so that one day they can take their "rightful place" on the Federation Council. You know, in some ways you're worse than the Borg. At least they tell you about their plans for assimilation. You're more insidious. You assimilate people and they don't even know it."
The Federation viewed the Maquis as terrorists against the peace between themselves and the Cardassians, and while not attacking them as pro-actively as the Cardassians, they often skirmished until the Dominion eventually wiped out the entire organization except those on the USS Voyager in the Delta Quadrant.
Human prominence in the Federation
During peace talks with the Klingons in the 2290s, the Federation was accused of being a "Homo sapiens-only club". This was a reference to Earth's prominence and that of humans in the organization, even though it is comprised of over 100 planetary nations. (This Human dominance is more likely due to the shows production staff not wanting to spend a fortune on make-up).
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