What is the UFP's future?

[FaxModem1]

Let's assume, for the moment, that we're not going to see anything post-Nemesis for a while. What is the Federation's future? What will happen to it? We know, from Voyager and Enterprise, that it will survive in some form to the 29th and 31st centuries, but that is about all we know.

So, making supposition, what will happen to the United Federation of Planets, immediate future, short term future, and long term future?

Do you think it will continue to expand, gobbling up worlds and governments as the years go on? What will that mean for galactic relations? What will it mean for the Federation as a whole? I imagine at some point that bringing in an entire interstellar government like the Klingon Empire, or the remains of the Romulan Empire or Cardassian Union would shift demographics a lot when it comes to polling. What would happen there?

Or would such expansion simply not happen, and the Federation just continues to exist, not being destroyed, but not making progress on expansion either?

Or, let's say that Daniels and the crew of the Relativity are from an alternate timeline or whatever. What would cause the destruction of the Federation? What would make it fragment or collapse? Will the Dominon or Borg come again once they have had a sufficient time to rebuild their forces?

Basically, this is a thought experiment on the long term survivability of a government such as the United Federation of Planets, and what will happen to it.

Discuss.

[Q99]

Exploration and diplomacy is their core, it'd take a heck of a lot to get them to stop expanding. I think the next big shift is incorporating the Klingons- who themselves will likely go through notable reform first.

And they will have to take on the Borg in force.

[B5B7]

I think the key to this is what Quark said in DS9 - that the Federation has an absorbtion ability because its enemies do not perceive its real core - it seems soft but takes its potential opponents unaware. Quark's actual quote was something different (about synthehol) but had the same meaning.
The Borg are doomed; they think they are masters of assimilation, but they have nothing on the Federation.

[Crazedwraith]

It was Root Beer

The Borg, S8472 and the Dominion are about the only real threats left and that's only if you don't believe Endgame's implication that it was the end of the borg.

The Klingons were over extended and broken by the dominion War, the Romulans were fucked up by Nemesis and the 2009 movie.

The Federation should expand and there's nothing stopping them expanding around or even through other societies that's how space works. Their volumes of space could interpenetrate.

They can gain influence in Cardassian space like they did in Bajoran, gain favour by rebuilding.

[Imperial Overlord]

The Klingons were over extended and broken by the dominion War,

The Klingons were hardly broken by the Dominion War. They suffered heavy casualties, but also experienced political (and potentially social) renewal. Their rivals also suffered heavy casualties and the Federation is an allied power. While there's no doubt the Federation has the best seat at the table and is in the best position to expand short term and, in the long term, become a social and political hegemon through a combination of being a trusted partner and arbitrator as well as shear economic, military, and technological strength.

[Sea Skimmer]

Very slow expansion seems likely. None of the other major powers are ever going to join the Federation, it's too blatantly dominated by humans and Earth centered, but we saw a lot of minor 1 planet or 1 system scale powers in TNG and DS9, though sometimes just from aliens in the bar, that might join over time. The Federation also has a bunch of unexplored directions colonists can branch out in. But I would figure this would be very slow because the federation already has so many tiny colonies on habitable planets that could take centuries to populate, and the main appeal of new colonies is probably small sects of people wanting more political autonomy. Given how advanced the space station tech is in this universe the total incentive to physically expand is very low other then in the quest for very rare raw materials. And that could be more and more automated.

The Federation could get far more populated and powerful basically without much geographic expansion.

The Borg, S8472 and the Dominion are about the only real threats left and that's only if you don't believe Endgame's implication that it was the end of the borg.

The Federation already seemed to have more or less absolute anti Borg weapons by that point anyway, though perhaps they wouldn't work as well in the 31st century.

But Voyager encountered a lot of other species that were thriving, and considering the Federation is only a few centuries old in the 2300s, by the 31st Century some of them could have turned into Federation rivaling factions. Its a question of transport as to if they matter or not to the Feds directly, but that universe had a lot of engine of the week concepts being thrown around.

[montypython]

Part of what I liked about the Star Fleet Battles/Star Fleet Command series is seeing factions like the Interstellar Concordium that were sort of like the Federation but having a different approach that may not necessarily mesh with Federation standards, and the Federation having to deal with them with the attendant consequences.

[Eternal_Freedom]

I would second the comment that the only powers that can pose an existential threat are the Borg, the Dominion or Species 8472 - though I think the greatest blockage to continual Federation expansion would be their own technology. Warp drive just isn't fast enough for a galactic-scale organisation. If they are able to develop something faster, like transwarp, quantum slipstream or whatever then fine. But if they can develop that, so too can the Dominion. In fact I'd be extremely surprised if the Founders haven't got Vorta scientists working on that exact problem as soon as the wormhole was blocked.

[Q99]

Note the Borg were adapting to the transphasic torpedoes during endgame- they were strong weapons but not absolute, and next time the Borg are actually going to have some warning. Of course the Federation also has a tech boost, so.

I would second the comment that the only powers that can pose an existential threat are the Borg, the Dominion or Species 8472 - though I think the greatest blockage to continual Federation expansion would be their own technology. Warp drive just isn't fast enough for a galactic-scale organisation. If they are able to develop something faster, like transwarp, quantum slipstream or whatever then fine. But if they can develop that, so too can the Dominion. In fact I'd be extremely surprised if the Founders haven't got Vorta scientists working on that exact problem as soon as the wormhole was blocked.

That said, I'm pretty sure the Federation's advancement rate is higher, with their greater diversity, exploration and trade to find more techs, and the fact that even being younger the two's tech was pretty close.

And of course the motherload that is Voyager, who has both info on Slipstream and data on Borg transwarp.

Part of what I liked about the Star Fleet Battles/Star Fleet Command series is seeing factions like the Interstellar Concordium that were sort of like the Federation but having a different approach that may not necessarily mesh with Federation standards, and the Federation having to deal with them with the attendant consequences.

Yea, running into other composite multi-species civs would be interesting. A diplomacy-war rather than a gun war where they each try and attract species in reach of both.

[Tribble]

IIRC Daniels once mentioned in ENT that by the 26th century all the major AQ powers were part of the Federation. A lot can happen in the meantime though.

[Tribble]

In terms of long term competition, apart from the Borg and Dominion theres the Krenim (assuming it's time tech still gets built eventually), the anti-telepath space nazis, the Earth-Dinosaurs, the Donut Planet (which could be ridiculously advanced if it survived) etc. Plenty of civilizations which can compete.

Plus theres whatever other horrors at the frontier of Federation space that they haven't run into yet - IIRC Q once mentioned that the Borg were just a preview to what's out there.

Now that the show with Picard is being developed we might see some more of that era / time line, which would be neat.

[bilateralrope]

In terms of long term competition, apart from the Borg and Dominion theres the Krenim (assuming it's time tech still gets built eventually), the anti-telepath space nazis, the Earth-Dinosaurs, the Donut Planet (which could be ridiculously advanced if it survived) etc. Plenty of civilizations which can compete.

How many of those are expansionist ?

Because those who just want to be left alone will find that the Federation will leave them alone. Unless they decide they don't want to be left alone any longer.

If there is even the slightest opening for communication, then the root beer will eventually take effect.

[montypython]

In terms of long term competition, apart from the Borg and Dominion theres the Krenim (assuming it's time tech still gets built eventually), the anti-telepath space nazis, the Earth-Dinosaurs, the Donut Planet (which could be ridiculously advanced if it survived) etc. Plenty of civilizations which can compete.

How many of those are expansionist ?

Because those who just want to be left alone will find that the Federation will leave them alone. Unless they decide they don't want to be left alone any longer.

If there is even the slightest opening for communication, then the root beer will eventually take effect.

Which is why having something like the Interstellar Concordium present is good to demonstrate that there are alternative approaches versus the UFP.