Reasons not to join the Federation? (shameless fan video plug)

[johnnybear]

It was definitely over by the time of Nemesis!
JB

 

[Stephen!]

My impression was that the Dominion war was over by the time of INS.

That might have been the intention when Insurrection was being written. The Dominion War was originally intended to be over after the arc at the beginning of DS9 season 6.

http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/A_Time_to_Stand_(episode)

The original plan for the multi-episode arc was that it would encompass the entirety of the Dominion War; as Ronald D. Moore explains, "The initial thinking was that we would end Season 5 on a cliff-hanger with the Federation plunged into war, and then we would come back and do a multi-episode arc, and the war would last that long." Originally, the arc was going to be four episodes, but Ira Steven Behr extended it to five, and eventually to six. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)

 

[Tenacity]

The Dominion war definitely lasted too long. Too bad they didn't stick with the original idea, then move on.

 

[Stephen!]

This is what the "Fade In" document says about Insurrection and the Dominion War

As I wrote “Fade In” on Monday, October 13th, I was immediately confronted with my first decision -- where would Picard’s clutter arc begin? Where was he in his life when we find him?

On Deep Space Nine, the series which chronicles the continuing adventures of Starfleet, the Federation was involved in a desperate war for survival against the evil Dominion. It would be nice, I felt, to be consistent with the TV show. Picard and the Enterprise might be involved in combat when we find him. I called Ira who has guided the series for the last several years. “I know this is a hard question to answer,” I said. “But where do you think the Federation will be next Christmas when this movie comes out?”

Ira, who enjoys exploring the darker side of Twenty-Fourth century life, laughed and answered, “This might surprise you, knowing me. But I think things will be looking up for the Federation. The war will linger on but it’ll reach a stalemate probably by then and our stories will be more hopeful.” It made sense. Deep Space Nine would be in the middle of its last season -- the decision had been made long ago that it would run seven seasons -- and certainly they’d want to end the series on an uplifting note.

So, it seemed combat wasn’t the answer for Picard and as I sat there, I told myself it was probably just as well. Rick was not enthusiastic about the Dominion War plotline on Deep Space Nine and I knew he’d be reluctant to bring it to the big screen even as a tangential element.

So, I decided Picard would be awash in mundane details of duties heaped upon him by Starfleet Command as the war was winding down. It would be a far more subtle ‘regeneration’ for our Captain but I thought I could pull it off and I thought I could do it with humor which would be more in keeping with the tone of the film.

 

[Tenacity]

Tying DS9 heavily to a TNG movie would have been a mistake. While in the same universe, they were narrowly connected, and needed to be separate.

There were probably people who enjoyed the two previous TNG movies and wanted to see another, who'd never seen DS9.

A few throw in - throw away references were fine, but not more than that.

Like when Janeway briefly appears in NEM, several seconds and the VOY reference is over.

 

[lawman]

While I see the Federation as this interstellar association that you join and you retain complete sovereignty, some fans have posted that what they believe is that essentially the Federation is a internally powerful nation/state, and after joining you become a political sub-division of the Federation.

Who in their right mind would join that?

Dunno... anyone who prefers peace and prosperity to the alternatives? Seriously, why did the American colonies join the United States?

In an interconnected world (or galaxy) there's no such thing as "complete sovereignty" and never was, and even at a conceptual level it's overrated. Progress involves interdependence. That's why the entire history of civilization basically boils down to people forming larger and more inclusive political units.

 

[Tenacity]

^ Okay, then why as we progress into the future are the number of sovereign countries on Earth increasing, and not decreasing?

Things like EU is the exception, not the rule.

Look at the number of countries 50, a 100 or 500 years ago, compared to today.

 

[Tenacity]

why did the American colonies join the United States?

Well they didn't join it, they created it.

But if you look at the territories that joined after America's creation, how many today would still join?
Colorado, Texas, Washington, California are economically secure, more so than many countries. Would they join today?

How many of the European countries that joined the EU decades ago (the EU's prior version) would still join today given the differances between now and then?

Federation members are all warp capable, "first world," advanced societies (except maybe Bajor). Joining a interstellar community for the purposes of trade, defense and interstellar politics sounds reasonable,

Why trade away their sovereignty for what they could just as easily obtain through multiple treaties? Potential new members are not the low population wilderness of the Americans prior centuries.

 

[lawman]

^ Okay, then why as we progress into the future are the number of sovereign countries on Earth increasing, and not decreasing?
...
Look at the number of countries 50, a 100 or 500 years ago, compared to today.

Largely due to a couple of major waves of decolonization over the past century or two. It's a blip in the long-term trend. Give it time.

 

[Nyotarules]

they have no money, if you work you wont get paid

 

[Nyotarules]

The Ktarian homeworld was "ejected" from the Federation for showing sympathy to the Maquis, but that's the closest we ever got to any Federation worlds actually leaving. In on screen canon, that is. The novels of course had the whole Andorian secession storyline.

And they were punished for it due to a semi fascist President. The Federation is evil!

 

[Tenacity]

While the Federation didn't create the sickness the Founders were infected with, once the Federation had the cure they didn't immediately release it, it was used as a bargining chip.

The stairway to evil has many short steps.