Best and worst examples of diplomacy in Star Trek
 

What are some of the best and worst examples of diplomacy in Star Trek?

For the best I would say one of my favorites is Captain Picard dealing with those aliens in "Ensigns of Command" and for the worse I would say everything Archer did "A Night in Sick Bay".

Edit: Hey I put this in the wrong forum, could a Mod move it the general Star Trek forum?

Re: Best and worst examples of diplomacy in Star Trek
 

Moved by Mutai.

Re: Best and worst examples of diplomacy in Star Trek
 

A Night in Sickbay

Archer letting his dog pee on trees then getting pissed when the aliens get offended during diplomatic mission. Proceeds to have sexual dreams about his first officer.

Re: Best and worst examples of diplomacy in Star Trek
 

I like Picard's first contact with the Malcorians. The way he made contact, they handled a crisis, he welcomed them into a larger community, but ultimately respected their leader's wishes when they said they weren't ready.

Archer's blunder over a dog has to top the list of worst incidents. Even Janeway left her dang dogs at home and she wasn't the leader of the first human starship in deep space.

Re: Best and worst examples of diplomacy in Star Trek
 

I also think there were a lot of incidents in the first season of TNG, where Picard and the crew came off as ineffective weenies in the diplomatic field.

Code of Honor was pretty bad for example, where Lutan kidnapped Tasha Yar and Picard seeming far too accommodating to Lutan after that act. Not to mention Picard's attempts at sabre rattling just come off as pathetic. It seems like in the first season of TNG, the Federation was supposed to bow to every crazy whim the other side had, rather then trying to develop an attitude of mutual respect.

Re: Best and worst examples of diplomacy in Star Trek
 

They need the medicine from that world pretty badly, and Lutan did fall from power at the end of the episode through the Enterprise crew's actions, so justice was served to a degree.

*************

Picard: "... pursuant to Sub-section D-3 I name... the Grizzelas ...

From Ensigns of Command, one of my favorite moments in all the various series.

:)

Re: Best and worst examples of diplomacy in Star Trek
 

Best: Sisko in In The Pale Moonlight. (But also the worst :p)
Absolute Worst: Insurrection

Re: Best and worst examples of diplomacy in Star Trek
 

The foreign policy conundrum presented in TNG's "The Wounded" is a fairly fascinating one -- a viewer today could make comparisons to the ongoing issue with Iran's alleged development of nuclear weapons. When should a war be risked to secure from an external threat?

And of course, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country glorifies the diplomatic process.

Re: Best and worst examples of diplomacy in Star Trek
 

Best? Kirk and the First Federation is second best.

But "Darmok" is sure the best. Followed closely by Kirk and the Kelvans. At the end, anyway. Relations with the Horta are right up there, too.

As for worst, I agree with all of the above.

Re: Best and worst examples of diplomacy in Star Trek
 

Unfortunately they are currently in their hibernation cycle, but they'll awaken in six months, and then we'll get this matter settled. Now, do you want to wait... or give me my three weeks?
He who lives by the rules die by the rules. ;)

Re: Best and worst examples of diplomacy in Star Trek
 

That wasn't diplomacy, that was dirty tricks. ;) But it was made necessary by one of the most catastrophic failures of Fed diplomacy: bungling the wormhole situation with the Dominion.

Dominion: don't use the wormhole, the GQ (or at least the part of it the wormhole leads into) is our territory, which we plan to defend with maximum violence.

Feds: STFU, we do as we please. Bring it on, gumbies.

Romulans: WTF, what about us? if the Doms get mad at you, they won't be too selective who they hit. We're blowing up that wormhole before anyone, namely us, gets hurt.

Feds: Those sneaky Rommies! We sure put a stop to their nefarious scheme to protect the Alpha Quadrant.

Romulans, to Cardassians: The Feds are being their usual idiotic selves. This leaves no choice but to handle the situation on our own by a first strike, thus proving that they're not the only idiots around.

...and we all know what happened as a result. The gumbies must have wondered what they did to deserve a quadrant full of Keystone Kops as neighbors.

Re: Best and worst examples of diplomacy in Star Trek
 

The Dominion War really was the result of a first-contact gone horribly wrong, IMO.

Re: Best and worst examples of diplomacy in Star Trek
 

To be fair, the Dominion's idea of first contact seems to be conquer a new species, ask questions later.

Re: Best and worst examples of diplomacy in Star Trek
 

Worst: We won't develop a cloaking device if you promise not to attack us.

Romulan response: Try to provoke the Federation into a war that makes them look like the good guy.
Real world response: Romulus surrounds Earth with a thousand warships before they even know the war has started.

Re: Best and worst examples of diplomacy in Star Trek
 

True. The Federation Cardassian peace treaty also felt like a huge diplomatic failure, comparable to the Munich Pact. The Cardassians treated that treaty like toilet paper, violated it whenever they wanted to and then used it against the Federation whenever they could. The Cardassians and Federation were at war with each other a few years after the peace treaty was signed.