There's a general thought at least the Klingons and Romulans conquered numerous worlds. I'm guessing the UFP won't actually prevent a conquest unless it's officially under their protection, or actually in their territory.
Would the Prime directive even matter in this situation?
- Thread starter Acenos
- Start date
wha tif they took the other way around?
Errand of Mercy, A private little war, and Friday's Child.
AFTER the Organian Treaty, the Klingons and the federation were not allowed to fight each other for resources.
They had to put a prospectus forward to the vital world caught between the two empires, and then that world had to decide who get's their dilithium.
Try the book "How Much for the whole Planet"
Point being is the Klingons had to learn how to play nice.
Nicer than the Federation.
But what about a threeway?
The klingons and the humans can both open fire on a Romulan ship after thew same resources.
Why do you assume that if a galactic power like the Federation or the Romulans conquered a smaller, aggressive, space travelling society, the members of the conquered society would forever be third class citizens or slaves?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quintus_Lollius_Urbicus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Septimius_Severus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macrinus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elagabalus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximinus_Thrax
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_the_Arab
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_the_Arab
etc.
I'm exaggerating with the Federation.
Although putting a planet into protective custody, because it really likes to rape and pillage is nothing like admitting that world into the Federation. The Federation would never do that. Borders blockades, neutral zones... Until when? A lot of work for no reward.
The Remans.
Living in dark mines only allowed out to die in wars that the Romulans start. And that's after two millennia of partnership!
The Klingon High council.
If there were a thousand non Klingon worlds in the Klingon empire during the berman era... Remind me how many non Klingons we ever saw on the Klingon High council?
What would the Federation do with a technologically inferior (but spacefaring) species living in their territory that simply isn't capable of anything but aggression? That literally can't be made to understand the idea of cooperation with other races / cannot be 'educated' in the federation way?
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In the novels, they turned a blind eye while Section 31 stepped in and prevented them from ever achieving warp capability.
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But what if the species already is warp capable ? (But still distinctly inferior to Federation tech, let's say 2150's era tech or so).
In that case I'm grateful that the Americans (and Canadians) thought differently in WW2 when it came to the war in Europe, my country otherwise might have been in for decades of Nazi rule or, more probably, after their defeat, fallen under the Soviet sphere of influence and become a satellite state to the Soviet Union, much like the fate of many European countries behind the Iron Curtain. (Of course that situation was different in that the Germans actually declared war on the U.S. so that they formally were involved., but still, the U.S. could have chosen to treat it as a fairly remote threat for the moment, just concentrating on defeating the Japanese).
But going back to Bajor/Cardassia. Somehow, the Bajorans drive off the Cardassians - perhaps the Cardassians weren't even really defeated, and still could have easily overpowered the Bajoran resistance, but decided at the political whim of the moment it wasn't really worth their effort anymore. At that moment, the situation still is very much a local affair. Still, the Bajoran government asks the Federation to come in, officially to help them with the administration I believe, but I'm practically sure they were also meant as a kind of deterrent to the Cardassians to not come back, much like US troops and nuclear weapons stationed in Europe during the Cold war. So, it is OK for them to interfere in an tense political situation that's really only between 2 other parties, when asked to, apparently.
The resistance did have contacts off-Bajor during the Occupation (for example Hagath, the arms dealer from Business as Usual sold weapons to them), and I I believe there are a few other quotes throughout DS9 that testify to such external contacts as well. Suppose now that by one of these channels, a desperate plea had reached the Federation to help them drive off the Cardassians, would that have been OK had they stepped in then? In short, where exactly is the dividing line between interference and non-interference?
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Well, I'm sure Section 31 has a means of dealing with that too.
So happy the USA stepped in 1939 to help their fellow humans across the seas.....what you mean they did not?
Exactly, but not the same thing as one planet or species dealing with another
Helping a planet who asks for help is one thing, stepping in and interfering with the affairs of others is colonialism and we know how well that turns out, especially for the indigenous population
The OP's question sounds more to me like the Enterprise coming upon Ming the Merciless in mid "Play with things awhile before destroying them" and having to decide whether to intervene.
How colonial of you Federations to dictate which 50 planets are allotted to us or any other species. Or, for that matter, to claim that we are in your territory. What gives you the right to decide who gets what planets or whose territory is whose?
Subspace radio relay boosters, Star Bases and intergalactically recognized currency.
How Much for Just the Planet?
Sure.
That is also a book.
That is also a book.
Well, that hot take certainly warranted reviving the thread after two weeks of being inactive. Bravo, hats off to you.
That's why the TOS version was better/superior to the TNG version. It was simply "identification of self or mission. No interference with the social development of said planet. No references to space, or the fact that there are other worlds, or more advanced civilisations." So, no prohibition against interference, just don't get caught. Don't expose yourself as alien.
In TOS finding some way to save a primitive or pre warp civilization from extinction was not a violation of the Prime Directive so long as the natives didn't detect alien involvement. "Paradise Syndrome" is one example.
