United Federation of Planets

The United Federation of Planets (abbreviated as UFP and commonly referred to as the Federation) was an interstellar federal republic, composed of planetary governments that agreed to exist semi-autonomously under a single central government based on the principles of universal liberty, rights, and equality, and to share their knowledge and resources in peaceful cooperation and space exploration.

One of the most powerful interstellar states in known space, it encompassed 8,000 light years and at least a thousand planets. The total number of formal members worlds was over one hundred and fifty.

Unlike its imperial rivals, who derived power from a single species subjugating other races, the Federation's various member worlds joined willingly  and were equals in the Federation's democratic society. The Federation Starfleet was incorporated to maintain exploratory, scientific, diplomatic, and defense functions. 

In the alternate reality, Captain Christopher Pike described the Federation as a "peacekeeping and humanitarian armada."

History
The seeds of the Federation were planted during a temporary alliance in 2154, in the search for a Romulan drone-ship. It was this that first  brought together the four species that would found the Federation: Terrans, Vulcans, Andorians, and Tellarites. After the crisis, these four species remained together, founding the precursor to the Federation, called the Coalition of Planets, a year later. Other species soon joined: the Denobulans, the Rigelians, the Coridanites, and several others. Over the next several years, the ties between the members of the Coalition strengthened and became more structured, until, finally, in 2161, the Coalition became the Federation.

Although the Federation's intentions were peaceful, around it were other, more belligerent powers such as the Klingon Empire and Romulan Empires. As it expanded through the admittance of more and more worlds, it came into conflict with these powers. In the 23rd century, its  main adversary was the Klingon Empire, with war briefly erupting between the two in 2267, before being halted by the Organians. However, tensions eased considerably towards the end of the century, with the Khitomer Conference of 2293 being a substantial turning point. This conference saw the signing of the Khitomer Accords, which effectively ended hostile relations.

At the start of the 24th century, the Federation began an unprecedented period of peaceful exploration of the galaxy, free of major conflicts, as its main adversary of the previous century, the Klingon Empire, was now at peace with it. However, relations with the Romulans remained hostile, albeit at a low, 'cold war' level. There was also a series of local conflicts in the late 2340s, as the Federation came into contact with other militant races such as the Cardassians, the Talarians, the Tholians and the Tzenkethi.

Then, however, the period of peaceful exploration came to an abrupt end. In 2365, the Federation encountered its single worst threat in the cybernetic pseudo-race known as the Borg. One of the most powerful and destructive forces in the entire galaxy, the Borg twice invaded the Federation within less than a decade. They were unlike anything the Federation had ever encountered, and were only foiled by chance and resourcefulness. The Federation was thus schooled in the fact that, in the vast, unexplored reaches of the galaxy beyond what they knew, there were threats that they could not even imagine.

In 2370, contact was made with the Dominion, the predominant ruling power over much of the Gamma Quadrant. After numerous skirmishes, misfortunes suffered by the Cardassian Union allowed for their eventual incorporation into the Dominion, and the subsequent Dominion invasion of the Alpha Quadrant. The Dominion/Cardassian forces were also joined by the reclusive but immensely powerful race known as the Breen. The ensuing war was the greatest crisis to be faced by the Federation, with the Federation forming an alliance with the Klingons and Romulans to defeat the Dominion. Although the Alliance eventually emerged victorious, many of the Federation's important member worlds, such as Betazed, Coridan, and Benzar, had been temporarily occupied before the Dominion's offensive could be turned back. Thousands of Federation Starfleet vessels and millions of lives were lost, in what turned out be, as of the late 24th century, the bloodiest conflict in Federation history.

The most devastating and demoralizing offensive  occurred in 2375, when the Breen hit the Federation at its heart, with a surprise attack on Starfleet Headquarters on Earth.

However, the aftermath of the Dominion and Borg invasions allowed the Federation to establish new relations with many of its former adversaries, the Romulans in particular. In 2379, cooperation took place between the crew of a Federation Starfleet vessel, the USS Enterprise, NCC 1701-E and Romulan forces to defeat the Reman Praetor Shinzon, whose actions would have destroyed both Earth and the Romulan Star Empire. It was hoped that this would mark the beginning of an end to hostility between the Federation and the Romulan Star Empire, marking the beginnings of détente with a traditional enemy of the Federation.

Size and Location
The Federation was located in the Alpha Quadrant and Beta Quadrants  of the Milky Way Galaxy. By the early 2370s, the Federation's territory was spread across 8,000 light years, with a membership of over 150 worlds and over 1,000 semi-autonomous colonies. Its major neighboring sovereignties were the Klingon Empire, the Romulan Star Empire, the Cardassian Union, and the Ferengi Alliance. Other neighboring sovereignties were the Tzenkethi, the Tholian Assembly, the Breen Confederacy and the Xindi.

Government
The exact nature of the government of the Federation has never been made clear on screen. From the information available, the United Federation of Planets would appear to be a constitutional representative republic, similar to that of the United States, prior to the 1860s. The exact division of powers between the Federation government and the governments of its member worlds is unknown, though various episodes indicate the Federation placed great value on maintaining local sovereignty over local affairs. Member worlds were left to manage their own governance in accordance with their own traditions and local laws, so long as the general requirements of membership were met, similar to how the member states of the European Union are bound together today.|However, Federation law did grant the government emergency authority to override local governance and declare martial law on a member's territory.

The Executive Branch
The executive branch was responsible for the day-to-day management of the Federation. The democratically-elected Federation President was the head of this branch. The Federation President served as both the head of state and head of government; as chief executive officer of the government, the President determined most of the Federation's foreign policy, managed budgetary concerns, and served as supreme commander of the Federation's military forces. The President's office was located in the Earth city of Paris on the European continent.

The Federation Cabinet was a special executive committee to the President of the United Federation of Planets.

Executive Agencies
The Federation also maintained a number of executive agencies that assisted in the administration of its affairs:


 * Archaeological Council
 * Astronomical Committee
 * Bureau of Agricultural Affairs
 * Bureau of Industrialization
 * Bureau of Planetary Treaties
 * Central Bureau of Penology
 * Department of Cartography
 * Department of Temporal Investigations
 * Earth Broadcasting Company
 * Federation Naval Patrol
 * Federation News Network
 * Federation News Service
 * Federation Science Council
 * Federation Science Bureau
 * Starfleet
 * Terraform Command
 * United Earth Space Probe Agency (UESPA) (existed from the 21st century and at least into the 23rd century)

In addition, at least one rogue agency, known as Section 31, was known to have operated in the name of the Federation.

The Legislature
The Federation Council was the unicameral legislative body of the Federation. Composed of representatives from the various member worlds, the Federation Council held the power to create, amend, and ratify Federation law. The Federation Council also held a great deal of influence over the operations of the Federation's military service, Starfleet. It sometimes served as the judging body of specially-convened courts-martial, and on occasion issued operational orders to Starfleet. The Council also held influence over the making of Federation foreign policy. The Council's meeting chamber was in the Earth city of San Francisco, on the west coast of the North American continent.

The Judiciary
The judiciary was the branch of government responsible for resolving legal disputes. It consisted of a hierarchy of courts, with the Federation Supreme Court at its apex. Federation courts sometimes relied on panels of citizens known as juries. The Federation Grand Jury heard testimony as part of criminal investigations, while the Federation Special Jury tried war criminals. Alongside the civilian courts, Starfleet had its own system of courts martial.

Federation Law
The fundamental political principles and laws of the Federation derived from two important documents:


 * The Federation Charter was the document ratified by the original members of the United Federation of Planets at the organization's founding in 2161. Caste-based discrimination was prohibited under the Charter.


 * The Federation Constitution incorporated a series of enumerated rights to which all sentient beings were regarded as being entitled, collectively referred to as the Guarantees. The Seventh Guarantee of the Federation Constitution protected individuals from self-incrimination, while the Twelfth Guarantee protected the rights of artists.

The relationship between the UFP Constitution and the Federation Charter is unclear. Both contain rights for individuals. It is possible that the Charter describes the requirements for entry of a planet into the Federation, while the Constitution describes the principles, governing structure, and citizen rights once becoming a member (for example, rights against self-incrimination).

Other rights and responsibilities for citizens derived from:
 * The Federation Judicial Code, which provided guidelines and regulations related to legal issues in the Federation.
 * Starfleet General Orders and Regulations, a series of guidelines used to instruct members of Starfleet on the proper etiquette and policy in a situation that requires consultation for a resolution.
 * The Federation Uniform Code of Justice, which formed the legal basis of Starfleet court martial proceedings.

Exploration and Defense
Starfleet was the deep-space exploratory and defensive service maintained by the United Federation of Planets. Its principal functions were the advancement of Federation knowledge about the galaxy, the advancement of Federation knowledge of science and technology, and the defense of the Federation. In addition, it also played a significant diplomatic role. As per its mandate of deep-space exploration, its personnel were frequently brought into contact with cultures and sentient species whose existences were previously unknown to the Federation. Federation Starfleet officers therefore acted as official representatives of the Federation in these cases. Also, Federation Starfleet vessels were frequently used to ferry ambassadors on diplomatic missions.

The Federation has never been shown to have a standing army. Captain Picard stated that "Starfleet is not a military organization, its purpose is exploration" despite Starfleet using military ranks and procedures and always appearing as the Federation's first line of defense.

Economy
By the founding of the Federation in the 22nd century capitalism was no longer the economic system of Earth, being replaced by the New World Economy. According to Tom Paris, it was around this time that "money went the way of the dinosaur."

Under the New World Economy material needs and money no longer existed and humanity had grown out of its infancy. People were no longer obsessed with the accumulation of things, effectively eliminating hunger and want and the need for possessions. The challenge and driving force then were to improve oneself, to enrich oneself and the betterment of all humanity.

Although most items and services were provided by the Federation, some luxury items and services could still be requisitioned as late as the 23rd century using the Federation credit, and private businesses from other races such as the Ferengi were sometimes permitted on Federation stations such as Deep Space 9.

However, the Federation continued to deal with other cultures which had money-based economies. The Ferengi in particular were scornful of the Federation's disregard for currency.

Membership
Admittance into the Federation was either by invitation or successful petition of a world or civilization desirous of joining. In the second case, membership was granted only upon satisfaction of certain requirements. Firstly, the government of the prospective member submitted an official petition to the Federation Council, outlining its desire to join. A lengthy, thorough investigation of the prospective member's culture followed. This investigation could take several years, and was done to ascertain whether or not the culture genuinely shared the values of the Federation: values of benevolence, peaceful co-existence and co-operation, the rule of law, and equal rights and justice.

Even before the investigation, the prospective member had to meet certain requirements. These were as follows:


 * It had to have an "advanced level of technology." The Federation's baseline definition of this term was the capability for faster-than-light space travel.
 * Its government had to have achieved stable planetary political unity, respecting the rights of the individual.
 * No form of caste discrimination was to be practiced.