Is the Federation the Most Advanced Society in the 24th Century?
The Federation of Planets was long thought to be the Star Trek equivalent of the United Nations, which operated in a predominantly democratic manner on behalf of its member planets. Trek creator Gene Roddenberry mentioned the Federation just a few times in his TOS Writers Guide. Still, he did say that his vision of the future is an automated, regimented, in-human Earth Federation. While Roddenberry may have laid the groundwork for this idea, the term Federation of Planets was actually coined by Gene Coon, one of the key producers on TOS. Since then, the idea of the Federation has been fleshed out a whole lot more, and fans can watch its birth on Star Trek: Enterprise and its death on Star Trek: Discovery. Some fans equate the Federation to real-life organizations, like the European Union, NATO, or even the United States. What sets the Federation apart from its rivals in the Alpha Quadrant and beyond is that there is no one dominant planet or empire that wields power. Indeed, Earth plays a primary role in steering Federation policy  much like how the United States was arguably the most critical voice in the United Nations following World War II. But humanity shares seats at the Federation table with many other species, including the Vulcans, Tellarites, Anorians, and many others. Starfleet is the quasi space police for the Federation, but the charter for the organization clearly states that it is one of exploration  not combat.  Travis (@travisjohnson) June 24, 2021  Travis Johnson, who is also a host of the Trek-themed podcast, Black Alert, spoke briefly with Heavy on how he came to this thought. I have been doing a rewatch of all of Trek since October of last year, said Johnson, who lives in Virginia. And Ive been doing it chronologically, so I started with Enterprise, went to Discovery, then Original Series and Animated Series, Next Gen, and Im concurrently watching Deep Space Nine and Voyager.  Johnson said that he was watching Voyager when the idea of tech parity came into his mind. There was this episode where we find out that Seska is a Cardassian, said Johnson. It kind of just got all the wheels turning. They mention that Seska was able to be surgically altered to look like a Bajoran. That made me think of the time when Kirk was surgically altered to look like a Romulan (in The Enterprise Incident). Johnsons thought provoked a discussion on Twitter. Many others chimed in their theory as to why Starfleet is basically on par with the Romulans, Klingons, Cardassians, and others. The Romulan and Klingon empires are millenia old! The Federation, meanwhile, via multiculturalism and unity expanded to equals within a couple hundred years. Cardassians are coded as fascists emerged from a failed republic, and their expansion is very recent (at terrible cost)  Trek to the Holodeck (@TrekToTheDeck) June 25, 2021  And:  Cant speak to Klingons since they hate subterfuge but Romulans and Cardassians have amazing intelligence communities and fund their planets off subjugation. Plus you dont always need a big army. Just a good one who is specialized ala England.  J.D. (@starklyjd) June 24, 2021  There are a few canonical reasons why this difference could be true. The Klingons Are A Threat, Because They Stole Technology      Play    The Klingons Attack DS9 (The Way of the Warrior) The action scene as the Klingons attack and board the station. From Star Trek Deep Space Nine S4E1: The Way of the Warrior 2021-01-17T20:25:45Z  According to Klingon lore, they did not actually do what Zefram Cochrane did for Earth, creating a warp-capable ship. Instead, they acquired it from an alien race called the Hurq. These insect-like marauders invaded Kronos (or QonoS), and the Klingons fought them off. They reverse-engineered the invaders warp engines and were able to join the other space-faring races. Some argue that the Klingons may have science academies toiling away on advanced technology, and the shows, films, books, video games, and other media just have not yet shown these people. The Romulans May Have The Best Tech      Play    Enterprise D vs Romulan Warbird This is just a splice together of various scenes to make it look like the Enterprise D has found itself fighting a Romulan Warbird. The quality is less than DVD because I made this from clips taken from VHS tapes back when I was in High School, a bit over a decade ago. 2015-03-23T15:23:58Z  Since they are descendants of Vulcan, it makes sense that the Romulan Star Empire would have the very best technology available. Their cousins, the Vulcans, dedicate their time to peaceful and logical scientific pursuits. The Romulans possess this same intellect but are motivated by more emotional and sometimes sinister aims. According to Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Journal  which Shane Johnson wrote for the Starlog imprint  the Romulans traded their cloaking technology to the Klingons for some ships during their short-lived alliance. Among the Romulans most remarkable achievements are their unique approach to faster-than-light travel. Unlike Starfleet, the Romulan ships are powered by a quantum singularity contained aboard their vessels. This is sort of like having a miniature black hole instead of a warp drive. This power was demonstrated during 2009s Star Trek film, which saw the Romulans use a singularity to destroy Vulcan and travel through time. The Romulans have been a thorn in the side of the Federation through all eras but proved to be anti-technology when it comes to artificial intelligence. This fear and loathing of artificial life were explored in Star Trek: Picard. And by the time of Picard, the Romulans are clearly still a viable threat. Cardassians Have Fallen Behind      Play    The Battle of Cardassia in Star Trek Deep Space Nine (1993-1999) Deep Space Nine is a space station located near a stable wormhole between the Alpha and Gamma quadrants of the Milky Way Galaxy. The final episode of the series with the same name, "What You Leave Behind" sees the end of the Dominion War as the alliance of Starfleet, the Klingons, Romulans, and rebel Cardassians 2019-02-14T10:55:33Z  By the time we get to know them best, during Deep Space Nine, Cardassian ships and technology have fallen behind the Federation. While this would be true for some time, the superior ships of Starfleet were not enough to win the Federation-Cardassian War, which was fought to a stalemate. This does not count the alliance that the Cardassians strike up with the Dominion, which make them a part of an incredibly powerful force. Starfleet is Not Meant to Fight      Play    Star Trek Into Darkness  Warp Battle Scene [USS Vengeance attacks USS Enterprise [HD] EDIT: I have disabled comments because people are being stupid. 2013-08-20T22:28:19Z  Perhaps the real reason why ships that are part of Starfleet are not as heavily armed as the Klingons or as high-tech as the Romulans is because the mission of Starfleet is exploration  not battle. If the Federation wanted to produce warships, they certainly could. The examples being the Enterprise-E, the Defiant, and the Dreadnought-class (U.S.S. Vengeance) in Star Trek Into Darkness.  READ NEXT: Will Brent Spiner Return as Soong or Android on Star Trek: Picard?