How much political dessent can you get away with in the Dominion?

[Xerxes1979]

The recent events in the Middle East make me wonder how the various solids of the Dominion vent frustration with the lack of political empowerment.

Do the Founders(who are few in number) largely leave various worlds alone except demanding war material or a do they oversee the entire civil society of member worlds?

Can you smartass a Founder or lay on a guilt trip when the goals of Dominion are countrary to the wellbeing of your own planet?

 

[Anwar]

The Quickening showed that if you do anything opposing the Dominion's rule, they will enact quite the punishment on you.

They seem to leave the worlds themselves alone as long as they pay whatever tribute they're supposed to give to the Dominion, which is easier than outright conquering everybody.

 

[Xerxes1979]

Is tribute a fixed amount or a percentage? It seems any post scarcity civilization would have more and more resources that could be invested in things that might eventually threaten the Dominion.

Are planets allowed to have basic medical or other pure R&D? How would you even know without extremely pervasive Vorta oversight?

Do Vorta go to college to become experts in accounting and medicine? Even a prewarp civilization probably has a sufficently developed understanding of psychology to define and undermine the limits of Vorta genetic behavioral programing.

 

[Timo]

The Dominion as such isn't an entity that a rogue member world could physically threaten: supposedly, there are no "government" planets that a dissident group could strike against even if it developed new and impressive fighting technologies. The government itself hides from the public and in fact is considered mere myth and legend by some; the government's enforcers appear out of nowhere and can probably hurt you no matter how advanced you get, simply by being so damn stealthy and reaching your most tender weaknesses with ease.

So conventional dissent would have no target at which to aim. If anybody tried to form a mini-Dominion inside the Dominion, this would be considered an oppressive move, not a liberating one, and the rebellion would fail to reach much support...

A nice catch-22 setup there, really.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Xerxes1979]

@Timo

But lets say your planet is developing a threating technology, like time travel or something.

How far could you bend Dominion edicts without getting killed? These things would be discussed in secret or private, perhaps like how contraband religion exists in China.

How complete is the Dominion's dominion?

 

[Timo]

I'd guess the Founders wouldn't be interested in the degree or type of dissent much. They have limited resources for policing, so they'd simply react whenever they see dissent, and react with maximum overkill. It wouldn't matter whether you plotted the fielding of a vast armada of warships or the sabotaging of the next tulaberry shipment by peeing on it - if a Jem'Hadar happened to overhear, your species would be infected with a horrible disease in both cases, or your industries bombed to dust, or your newborn all spirited away, or a severe whipping added to your morning routines. Whatever best drove irrational fear into you and the people around you.

...I think. Who knows what the Founders think, though. But they couldn't really afford to be "just" in their punishment.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Myasishchev]

Is tribute a fixed amount or a percentage? It seems any post scarcity civilization would have more and more resources that could be invested in things that might eventually threaten the Dominion.

Are planets allowed to have basic medical or other pure R&D? How would you even know without extremely pervasive Vorta oversight?

They almost must. What, do the Founders need serfs to bring in the harvest? If they didn't desire to use their captive population as a innovative engine, then they'd probably just kill them.

 

[Jono]

It would have been interesting to see what happened to the Karemma after they A) gave the Federation the location of a Dominion subspace relay and B) was caught trading with a Federation warship. YOu'd think the Dominion wouldn't be exactly thrilled with what was happening

 

[Timo]

The Dominion would probably be highly pragmatic when it could spare the time and effort: a punishment would be devised that would allow most of the Karemma to go on providing the Jem'Hadar with torpedoes, while dissidents suffered. With less crucial member cultures, the punishment would not be that elaborately devised, though. Tulaberry doesn't make or break the Dominion, so the Dosi would best serve the Dominion if they died and suffered in interesting ways even after a fairly minor transgression.

We don't have a clear picture of the true extent of the Dominion, though. Perhaps there are a hundred cultures comparable to the Karemma in their industrial offerings, and the Dominion can always afford to lose one as a punitive example? Perhaps the Dominion also makes cultures, in addition to breaking them, and gives some new culture the secrets of torpedo-building if it becomes necessary to snuff the Karemma.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[heavylids]

It's like the mafia. Pay me or I'll break your kneecaps.

 

[Weyoun Ten]

I think the best way to describe this might be something plane and simple: jurisdiction. That was expressed I think once or twice in the series if my memory serves me right.

I know that the female founder promised the Breene (after the Dominion would win the war of course), jurisdiction over some solar systems, including Earth. (Weyoun Five or Eight didn't take a liking to it).

From that, the whole 'higher empire' made up of representatives who reported to the Founder, would overlook this large amount of space. It almost reminds me of The Revolutionary War; King Geroge was promising his loyal subjects huge lands, his subjects planning on calling the areas their kingdoms.

^Something like that. But I could be wrong; just now getting back into the swing of politics and DS9.

 

[Weyoun Ten]

Forgot to add, yea, pretty sure that the founders would take care of the representatives that showed any sign of disloyalty. Mainly assassinate them or something.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Seems clear: no dissent is tolerated. The Dominion is a classic dictatorship.

 

[Weyoun Ten]

Of course! It's the only way to efficiently run all that space when you have one species wanting control over all the others!

Its surprising simular to World War I and II. Hell, even farther backward OR forward (Nam or Dessert Storm). The Dominion caused many wars between many planets before declaring war upon the federation of planets, having gotten many different alien species to rack up, stack up, and join the dominion before officially declaring war. 'Gorilla tactics,' before the big war, if you think about it.

Also like bacteria; one bacteria will never attack the other bacteria unless it has more cells. Before the war, the Federation had more of everything, so the Dominion had to stack up.

 

[Sci]

Don't be silly. There's no political dissent in the Dominion.

I know that because the nice Vorta standing next to those angry-looking Jem'Hadar tells me so.

 

[Weyoun Ten]

Oh no! Never! The founders are fair, great, and rewarding above ALL gods!

 

[Gul Re'jal]

And if you think otherwise, Jem'Hadar come and then you DIE...............

 

[Weyoun Ten]

... I think this Cardassian is following me, and there's nothing I can do about it. :/ (lol! Just kidding!)

Wait... where's the nearest airlock?

 

[Gul Re'jal]

Just behind you No, don't run!! Owww...

 

[Weyoun Ten]

**would try to think up a quote Weyoun said in the series but is laughing way too damn hard*