Feds In A Pickle

At the transition from season one to season two, across the span of four episodes (In the Hands of the Prophets, The Homecoming, The Circle, and The Siege), the Federation presence on DS9 has too deal with the challenges of an insurgent social movement and a possible coup d'etat on Bajor.

For the Feds, this is troubling because they want to Bajorans to become the newest members of the United Federation of Planets, while the revolt on the planet (along with some ancillary attacks on the station) are being orchestrated by a xenophobic group called the Circle who want to get rid of the Feds. They see the Federation in many ways as a wolf in sheep's clothing and a substitute occupier to replace the recently departed Cardassians.

At the center of this power grab is a power vacuum left behind by the last Kai (the planet's religious leader). In the running are two Vedeks (priests): Vedek Winn, the socially conservative, ultra-orthodox and scheming and Vedek Bareil, the liberal, charismatic and wise. The actual election doesn't take place until near the end of season two but it is the run-up to the election that sets the scene for the these four episodes.

Religion plays a big role and the season one finally in particular demonstrates rather effectively how an ambitious and calculating individual can misappropriate scripture, manipulate spiritual fears and use dogma as a tool to their own political ends. Vedek Winn begins a crusade against the Federation's scientific teachings about the wormhole which she claims to be the "Celestial Temple." The anti-federation sentiment that brews aboard the station leads to the bombing of the school. Later we learn that this was all a ploy to lure her main opponent in the election, Vedek Bareil, to the station to have him assassinated.

Long story made short, Bareil survives the attempt but Winn and a politician named Jaro conspire to overthrow the Provisional Government through its manipulation of the military and their control of the Circle. What they don't realize is that the arms being supplied to the Circle are actually coming from the Cardassians through an intermediary. The duplicitous Cardassians have an interest in seeing the removal of the Federation so that they can come back and take over a still-weak Bajor. The Feds luckily catch wind of this, but they have orders not to interfere with the coup as it would go against the Prime Directive.

Evidence of the Cardassians' involvement is secreted away by the Bajoran liason officer, Kira Nerys, and in an act of defiance, Commander Benjamin Sisko chooses to interpret his orders loosely and remain aboard the station with his senior staff to stall and impede the Bajoran boarding party long enough for the evidence to reach the PD.

Federation efforts were successful and the coup was stopped in its tracks. But what if Sisko had obeyed his orders to the letter? What if they had allowed the coup to proceed and evacuated the station? Undoubtedly the most important location in the galaxy would have been retaken by the Cardassians and the Bajorans would return to being subjected to occupation and war. Later, as the Dominion War occurs, the Federation would be at an much weaker position and would be more likely to lose, ending an era of freedom, peace, prosperity and multicultural tolerance (not to mention a franchise).

So, realism rules the day in this collection of episodes. The Prime Directive proved inadequate in protecting the Federation and its allies. Only in disobeying it was the Federation able to maintain their strategic hold on the region and later survive the coming war.

Trouble in Paradise

The following scene contains a salient soliloquy... well, more like an angry rant by Commander Sisko after an infuriating talk with his superior officer. I think it encapsulates rather effectively some of the problems that come with utopia. You heard me right. Problems of utopia.

DS9 was one of the few shows that focused on other, less-evolved civilizations over a long period of time. In other series, the discovery of and encounter with other, alien cultures happens in virtually every episode, and it can often be a cautionary social tale, but its exposure seldom lasted longer than a single episode. And while DS9 can seem darker for focusing on a less idyllic culture than the Federation, it also shows us the cracks in even the Federation's foundation at times.


This does not mean that the utopia of earth is actually less perfect. It does, however, suggest that its near-perfection is itself a weakness at times. Domesticated dogs don't understand what life is like for the wolves and it is easy to lose sight of the day-to-day struggles others still experience when all your needs are met. As Sisko puts it, "It's easy to be a saint in paradise."

First Season Thoughts: Part 2 (Eminent Domain)

S1:E15 - Progress: Major Kira, the Bajoran liason officer and second in command of DS9 is sent to the Bajoran moon Jeraddo to convince a small group of holdouts to relocate to Bajor to make way for an energy project that will make the moon uninhabitable. As a classic morality play, this episode brings up several ethical questions about social good when it comes in conflict with individual good.

The holdout group is led by a cantankerous, old, Bajoran man named Mullibok. He and his kiln escaped their Cardassian oppressors to live in relative peace and tranquility with a self-maintained subsistence farm on Jeraddo. But the Federation is now helping Bajor with a project that involves tapping the geo-thermal energy of he moon's core to provide power to hundreds of thousands of Bajorans on Bajor. Unfortunately, this process is so disruptive to the crust of the moon, it releases poisonous gasses into the atmosphere. Mullibok is aware of the risks but stubbornly refuses to leave his home, postponing the project indefinitely.

Kira becomes close with Mullibok and sympathizes with him, having clung to irrational hope herself while serving in the resistance. In the end, the ethical questions are never answered and Kira takes the drastic step of burning down his home and beaming him away from the moon's surface.

Spock once famously pronounced the utilitarian ideals of the Federation when he said, "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." While this choice can present itself in clear ways, as when Spock sacrificed his own life to save those of the Enterprise crew, there are still far more ambiguous and problematic issues that arise from that idea. Some of which fly in the face of our modern conception of democracy and freedom. If anything is to be gleaned from the episode, it is perhaps that even centuries later we will be debating eminent domain and New Hampshire farmers will still be blocking Northern Pass well into the 24th Century.

First Season Thoughts: Part 1

The first season of DS9 focused primarily on the post-occupation aftermath. Bajor is still getting used to being free of the Cardassians and dealing with everything that means. Their political instability is perhaps the most notable issue, followed closely by their tenuous relationship with the Federation. Other issues include religion, commerce, power plays, war criminals and war heroes. Here's a rundown of some notable episodes.

S1:E5 - Captive Pursuit: The first alien to from the Gamma Quadrant to emerge from the Bajoran Wormhole appears.

S1:E10 - The Nagus: We are introduced to the Grand Nagus of the Ferengi Alliance and his plans for economic expansion into the Gamma Quadrant. He will be a recurring character in future episodes and his entrepreneurial forays into this unexplored quadrant will hear to the first whispers of an important Gamma Quadrant power. I suppose with those ears, that's no surprise.


S1:E12 - Battle Lines: Kai Opaka is stranded on a prison moon where two groups of prisoners have been waging an eternal war, cursed to immortality. In being killed and reanimated by the biomechanical microbes placed there by the sadistic wardens, and therefore trapped on the moon, Opaka is almost transcended. She sees this all as the "way of the prophets" and her destiny. She feels called upon to teach the warring parties to finally resolve their differences and enjoy peace; a task that will undoubtedly take several years. Thus she becomes an almost mythical legend that ascended to the heavens to work for countless centuries for peace. In some ways, she is like a Christ figure, who quite literally is resurrected and remains living away from her planet. What is the most important thing to note about her departure, however, is that it leaves a significant power vacuum in Bajor that ambitious Vedics will vie for in a cut-throat election to be the next Kai.

Warp Drive a Reality?

Ring shaped engine around a football-shaped vessel. Harold White/NASA

We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to bring you the latest scientific news in humanity's never-ending search for a means of faster-than-light travel. It seems we may be closer than we previously thought. The science has long been theoretically possible but demanded prohibitive amounts of energy. Like all the energy contained in the mass of Jupiter, for instance. Last week, scientists announced that they believe it may not require quite as much energy.

Warp Core

There are still some sticking points. First, it's still going to require more energy than we know how to efficiently produce. Some speculate that dark matter may be harnessed but we still don't really know what dark matter is. Secondly, in order to bend space as a means to travel from point A to point B, some kind of bubble needs to be maintained around the vehicle to keep from bending the vehicle itself. We really have no idea how to do that yet.

Federation dilithium mining facility

In Star Trek lore, the fuel issue was explained with a fictional mineral called dilithium. Dilithium crystals were extremely rare, only found on a few planets, but served as a valuable resource in regulating the matter/antimatter reaction that fueled the warp core of a typical Federation and non-Federation vessel. Warp fields serve as the bubble and the wave on which the vessel surfs.

Zephram Cochrane from Star Trek: First Contact

Zephram Cochrane was the first human to invent the warp drive and travel faster than light. This, according to Star Trek history took place on April 5th, 2063 (about 51 years from now). Hours after his first journey on his experimental vessel, the Phoenix, Cochrane and others living in Bozeman, Montana at the time had first contact with a crew of Vulcans who detected his warp signature.

The technology continues to play an important role in interplanetary relations long after humans begin exploring and the Federation is founded. The Prime Directive prohibits any direct contact or covert interference with pre-warp civilizations. It is also a basic requirement to be a member of the Federation. So, even if a civilization has already made contact with other planets, they would need to first develop to a stage of technological advancement that allows for interplanetary travel, trade and defense before contributing to and therefore reaping the benefits of the Federation.

2063 may be optimistic, according to scientists' projections, so we won't likely see warp technology invented in our lifetime. But one thing about the Star Trek story may prove prescient. It only takes a single moment of discovery to reshape human events and irrevocably change the course of history.

The Federation as an Idealist Institution

The United Federation of Planets (UFP) has often been compared to the United Nations. Indeed, there are many parallels that are obvious. On its face, it's a group of governments getting together to cooperate and hash out conflicts through negotiation and shared rule of law. The Federation also seeks to accomplish many of the same goals as the U.N. such as peace and prosperity and, insofar as cooperation is a means to that end, they share similar methods.

Starfleet Headquarters

But there is a point where this analogy breaks down. The U.N. rarely acts with singular purpose or effective power. On the other hand, the Federation is a state unto itself. When a civilization joins the Federation, they are abdicating a large measure of their sovereignty to do so. While in the U.N., keeping one's state sovereignty intact is one of the foundational assumptions of the institutional framework. Without much doubt, the U.N. would likely break down today if a similar legal requirement were imposed. The perceived benefits simply don't outweigh the sacrifice such an act would entail in the eyes of many statesmen of the 21st century. The Federation more closely resembles the European Union. Member states must sacrifice partial sovereignty but still not as much as planets in the Federation. At least for now, the E.U. doesn't have a central government that speaks with a singular voice.

Starfleet Headquarters in San Francisco

In many ways, the planets that enjoy the fruits of Federation membership are still relatively autonomous and administer domestic affairs with minimal political interference. That's not to say that they are completely independent. The individual planetary governments are, after all, beholden to the Federation government. And even if specific edicts are not handed down from the Federation government, Federation law restricts member actions at the domestic level to some extent. For instance, a prerequisite for membership precludes things like caste systems and oppressive governments. If a member government broke certain laws pertaining to human rights or egalitarianism, it would face legal punitive action by the Federation. If an entire civilization rebelled against Federation laws and ideals, it could face outright removal.

Federation Governance

The Federation Council

Office of the Federation President in Paris, France

The Federation has a president and a legislative body called the Federation Council. While the Council looks like a U.N. General Assembly with aliens, and while the president looks like a secretary general selected from a member planet, these are more than interplanetary institutions; they are branches of government. One can discern that it is a constitutional representative republic. Beyond this, little is known about the exact separation of powers. Both the Council and Starfleet Headquarters are located in San Fransicsco, but the office of the democratically-elected Federation President is in Paris, France. The Council is primarily involved in passing laws, but can also influence foreign policy a great deal. The President, elected by the Council members, is the Commander in Chief of Starfleet forces and sets foreign policy and budgetary agendas.

The Coalition of Planets

Federation History

The history of the Federation is a story told with greater detail in the most recent Star Trek series; the prequel called Star Trek: Enterprise. In it, a NATO-style alliance called the Coalition of Planets is formed between four main powers (Earth, Andor, Tellar and Vulcan) and several others. They banded together as an alliance against the Romulan Star Empire in 2154.

Years later, in 2161, the Coalition became the Federation. Starfleet predated the UFP.

Founding Ceremony of the Federation in 2161

Federation Territory

While the UFP is the primary power of the Alpha Quadrant, it also reaches into large parts of the Beta Quadrant. Earth is the capitol planet and the Sol System (our solar system) is located in the Alpha Quadrant near the the Beta Quadrant border. By the 2370s (the period of time that encompasses most of DS9), the UFP spans 8,000 light years with 150 member planets and over 1,000 semi-autonomous colonies.

Stellar cartographic map of the Milky Way

The Players

Alpha Quadrant Powers

The Federation - Consisting of over a hundred planets, their deeply held notions of non-interventionism and egalitarian benevolence may prove difficult to maintain during times of war. They are enjoying a golden age of peace, prosperity and exploration after the Khitomer Accords brought an end to conflict between them and the Klingon Empire.

The Klingon Empire - At peace with the Federation but still not part of it. The Klingons are ever the war-loving species. They value honor and combat above all other things. Much like the barbarian horde at the gates of ancient Rome. Their role in the coming conflicts will be made clear eventually. Suffice it to say, the Federation will be grateful for having hawkish allies. 

The Romulan Star Empire - Deeply suspicious of outsiders. Their spy network, the Tal Shiar, has a long reach. Their relationship with the Federation is not dissimilar from US relations with the Soviet Union during the Cold War. The two powers maintain a halt to aggressive activities following a war nearly three centuries ago by respecting a neutral zone that buffers the two regions. Romulans are, to repeat a favored quote, "so predictably treacherous."

The Cardassian Union - As cold, xenophobic and calculating as the Romulans, but not as isolationist. Their domestic politics are governed by Prelates. They created a police state to provide resources to a civilization devastated by plague. Now, the family and the state compete for dominance in Cardassian culture. The Obsidian Order is its intelligence agency. It spied on its own people as much as other powers.

The Ferengi Alliance - The wide-eared Ferengi represent a cautionary tale of the excesses of avarice and unmitigated capitalism. They are governed by the Rules of Aquisition and Bill of Opportunities. Their government is headed by a Grand Nagus in the Tower of Commerce, backed by a Board of Liquidators. Their culture is so extremely and unabashedly greedy that funeral services for men of great stature often constitutes an auctioning off of the desiccated remains.

Why DS9?

     There have been a total of five, live-action Star Trek television series. Three of them followed the voyages of various generational iterations of the Federation starship known as the Enterprise. Another followed the odyssey of the Federation starship Voyager during its long journey home after being thrown into a far corner of the galaxy. DS9 was unique. It was set on a space station. Let me set the stage for you.
     The United Federation of Planets has an ongoing interest in absorbing and adopting prospective planetary civilizations into itself. One such planet is Bajor. Bajor, however, is in rough shape. The Bajorans (those are the guys with little ridges on the bridge of their noses) have just won their liberty, with the help of the Federation, after a 50 year occupation by the Cardassian Union. Cardassians are gray-skinned, scaly bad guys with sinister charm and fascist leanings. Indeed, the best way to understand these guys would be to compare them to the Nazis. The only major difference between the Cardasssians and the Nazis, is that they killed large numbers of Bajorans out of cold calculation for economic or military ends, whereas the Nazis killed large numbers of Jews because that was their ideological mandate.
      By the time the occupation has ended, the Cardassians have stripped Bajor of its natural resources and the inhabitants are now struggling to piece together what semblance of governance and unity it can through a Provisional Government (PG). The PG is represented by several (often unfriendly) factions of Bajor and many of the institutions that would have theoretically provided the building blocks for a unified global government are simply absent thanks to the protracted military reign of the Cardassians.   
     Enter the Federation. Led by Commander Benjamin Sisko, they take over the old Cardassian space station known formerly as Terok Nor. The station was the center of power for the Cardassians in the Bajoran Sector of space. It was built by Bajoran slaves and its original purpose was to refine the uridium ore they were mining from the planet. The station had been managed by the last Cardassian Prefect of Bajor, Gul Dukat, (Gul is a title given to Cardassian military commanders) and he proves to be an early antagonist as the face of Cardassia for our heros on the space station.
     The Federation is there by invitation. Their power and influence, at least ostensibly, is self-restrained in dealing with the Bajorans. This may be in an effort to generate trust as their diplomatic overtures continue with Bajor's PG. It also may be emblematic of a genuine ideological and legal adherence to the Prime Directive. At any rate, Federation officers are working side by side with Bajoran officers.
     Bajorans are a very interesting species. They may not seem so on the surface (given their lame alien prosthetics; probably a budgetary decision). For starters, they are very religious. Their religion is made up of monk/priests called Vedeks and a matriarchal pontiff figure called the Kai. They have ancient scrolls with scriptures and prophecies. They worship a group of deities known only as the Prophets and they have a number of glowing, mystic relics from outer space known as Orbs. They are also very unique in that Bajorans have had contact with other planets like Cardassia millenia before they ever developed warp technology. How this is possible is revealed in a later episode, but it's important to point out here because in many ways their early space flight is what informed much of their religion. For instance, the existence of a Celestial Temple.
     In very short order, Cmdr. Sisko and his crew discover this "temple" in the form of a static wormhole, the first ever found. Wormholes have always been erratic and temporary. Some evidence suggests that this may even be artificially created. By whom, you may ask? Why, the Prophets of course! Yes, as it turns out, these supposed deities are really advanced, incorporeal aliens that live inside the wormhole. Sisko enters to discover it goes all the way to the Gamma Quadrant (a very very far away place in the same galaxy). He also meets the Prophets and teaches them about linear time and humanoid life, seeming to fulfill a prophecy, given to him by Kai Opaka (a sort of Mother Teresa character), that he is the foretold Emissary of the Prophets.
     They move the station in a daring move from its high orbit of Bajor to the mouth of the wormhole. In doing so, Bajor changes from a little-known backwater world with scarce resources to the most important center of trade and research in the galaxy. But as we'll soon see, such a distinction seldom goes uncontested, and there are dangers on the other side of this wormhole no one is prepared for.
     DS9 deviates from its progenitor series in several important ways. The most obvious is that it is based on a space station rather than a constantly moving vessel. Second is that the station itself is not Federation technology but Cardassian. Third, their crew is an awkward amalgamation of Federation officers and Bajoran officers. Fourth, the wormhole they guard represents a unique and lucrative spacial anomaly; a discovery one can liken to Europeans finding North America. Fifth, the mandate of the crew is not to explore, but to maintain the peace and fast-track Bajoran membership in the Federation. Religion is one of many complications the Federation faces. As a secular organization, with many prerequisites to Federation membership that exclude certain hyper-conservative cultural elements (that religion historically safeguards), they must reconcile their worldly goals with the priorities of a deeply spiritual civilization.
     In short, while Star Trek has always been about meeting other cultures, learning about them and engaging them diplomatically, DS9 is the best series for demonstrating the complexities involved with that process, especially with the threat of war on the horizon.
    

Engage!

     In this blog I am analyzing the Star Trek spin-off series Deep Space Nine (DS9) for elements of international relations (IR) theory.
     I know what you're thinking. "Why would I possibly care about IR theory in some science fiction series from the nineties? Why would anybody?" It's a good question. Let's put it this way. Blogs by their very nature are specialized. They cater to a niche audience, but there's more to it than that. In many cases, it's an exercise in revealing what goes unseen, of digging a little deeper than the cursory scan can penetrate.
     The subject of this blog may be somewhat obscure. Indeed, to find it interesting, you may have to either have a basic interest in IR theory or be a fan of the Star Trek franchise. But do not let that dissuade you, should neither apply. For this is a process of exploration. You could even use Star Trek itself as a metaphor. Virtually every series (with the exception of DS9) focuses on a space vessel on a mission to explore "where no one has gone before."  If you are new to either the TV show or the social science, that metaphor may suit you best. However, the best analogy that can be drawn from what I seek to accomplish would be found in archaeology. I am not looking at anything new. DS9 started in 1993 as a spin-off to the popular resurrection of the franchise Star Trek: The Next Generation which premiered in 1987.
     In reviewing episodes from DS9, a show based on a space station far from earth, it is possible to glean lessons not only in present day IR theories, but also how these theories may alter in a future where planetary civilizations interact in similar fashion. Traditional IR theories, for the most part, base themselves on the very basic assumption that the nation-state is the primary actor in international relations. However, it's worth noting that the nation-state is a relatively new development in the history of mankind. Only recently have human societies cohered to form nations, each with their various values and forms of governments. In the Star Trek mythology, nation-states are Pre-Warp conceptions.
     While it is certainly possible for warp engines (the fictional technology that allows for faster than light travel through space) to be developed by a nation-state, it generally follows that a global government is formed shortly after. For warp vessels are both figuratively and literally the vehicle through which planets enter the galactic society. But, as with Pre-Warp civilizations, where there is typically no global government, in Star Trek's Post Warp universe, there is no galactic government. In IR terms, that would be called an anarchic system. Thus, based on that very fact alone, one can simply substitute "international" with "interplanetary" and debate or employ many of the same concepts from today's IR theory.
     At the same time, while we may apply some lessons from the 20th and 21st centuries to the 24th century, the series makes the attentive viewer think hard about how Post Warp IR presents its own abundance of complications and questions.
     It is important to note that throughout the Star Trek franchise there has been a particular ideology propagated as the correct and righteous one. On the surface it may seem like it preaches rather simple and easy-to-swallow concepts: that peace is better than war, that tolerance is better than racism, sexism or xenophobia, that logic is better than superstition and that compassion is better than aggression. There's actually more to it than just that. Star Trek is and always has been a modern liberal utopia. In many ways the word liberal here does apply to domestic politics. Take economics for instance. The economy of the future has no money. How this works has never really been teased out and that's probably because even the writers can't figure it out (If they could, someone would have started a hippie commune and tried it by now). It's not exactly communist but it's probably anti-capitalist. I've already addressed social issues. Some like race were more prescient during the 60s when the original series was on the air. Though homosexuality is indirectly addressed with science fiction metaphors, since it was still not very mainstream for television back then, the practice would undoubtedly be met with societal acceptance and legal recognition in Post Warp earth. Not to belabor the point but San Francisco is the capital of the world!
     What I really mean by "liberal" is actually the IR term, which means something else entirely. It is also interchangeable with idealist. As such it is also very skeptical of it's counter school of thought, realism. I'll explain these terms with greater detail in the Primer Directive at the bottom of the blog, along with some basics you may need to know about the Star Trek universe I have failed to touch upon thus far.
     For now, as the old Vulcan adage goes, live long and... try not to fall asleep reading this blog.