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What political system does Star Trek's Federation operate under?


I've watched all of the Original Series and The Next Generation, and bits of Deep Space 9 and Voyager, all of the movies, but none of the more recent series, or the books. In all of the material I've seen, events tend to mostly focus on Starfleet (understandable, in that the action takes place on Starfleet ships/stations, and the main characters are Starfleet officers). I'm curious how the non-military, non-exploratory parts of the Federation government work.


Clearly, there are individual planetary governments, and some kind of federal government "on top of" that. Does each planetary government send delegates to some central governing body? Do they get population-based representation, one vote per planet, or what? Does the Federation have a "security council" like the United Nations, where some members are "more equal than others"?


What is the Federation government charged with? They're in charge of scientific exploration/defense (via Starfleet), but what else do they do?



I've read the Memory Alpha page on the Federation, and it's very vague, mostly just references to government bureaus or departments that are off-hand mentioned in one episode or another. I figured there might be sources with more detail - like the Enterprise series, which I gather has to do with the early period of the Federation, or maybe in another medium altogether.



Answer



The Starfleet Technical Manual contains a complete copy of the "Articles of Federation" that were agreed by the original members of the United Federation of Planets on Stardate 0965.


Although this book is generally considered 'non-canon', material from it has been used in several episodes of TNG, Trek films and throughout DS9 and Voyager.


As you can see, the Federation Charter is very heavily modeled on the United Nations Charter.


I'll paraphrase the main points;



Primary Articles


0) The primary purpose of the United Federation of Planets (UFP) is the mutual pursuit of peace as well as cultural, financial, humanitarian and social interaction.


0.1) The UFP will not intervene in "matters which are essentially the domestic jurisdiction of any planetary social system"



0.2) The UFP is based on the Sovereign Equality of all of its members.


1) Membership of the Federation is subject to the unanimous agreement of the Supreme Assembly.


2) The Supreme Assembly of the Federation can temporarily or permanently remove UFP membership.


3) The main bodies of the UFP are; The Supreme Assembly, The Federation Council, The Economic and Social Council, The Interplanetary Court of Justice, The Star Fleet and the Secretariat.


Supreme Assembly


1) The Supreme Council consists of all members of the UFP and is responsible for the "peaceful adjustment" of any situation involving UFP members, managing the budget of the UFP and promoting mutual cooperation between UFP members.


2) The expense of the UFP is borne by all members, as apportioned by the Supreme Assembly.


3) Each planet has one vote on the Supreme Assembly.


4) Supreme Assembly unanimity is required for decisions regarding UFP membership, suspension and expulsion as well as setting and apportioning the budget of the UFP.


5) The Supreme Assembly will vote for a 'President of the Supreme Assembly' each session



Federation Council


1) The Federation Council will consist of 11 members.


2) There are 5 permanent members of the Federation Council; Earth, The Planetary Confederation of 40 Eridani, the United Planets of 61 Cygni, The Star Empire of Epsilon Indii and the Alpha Centauri Concordium of Planets.


3) All other members of the UFP will periodically take seats on the Federation Council


4) The Federation Council is responsible for prompt action regarding interplanetary security (including the prosecution of sanctions, blockades and the severance of diplomatic relations) unless explicitly over-ridden by a unanimous vote of the Supreme Assembly.


Trusteeship Council


1) The Trusteeship Council will accept and arbitrate on petitions and disputes involving UFP members.


Star Fleet


1) "There is established an Star Fleet as an armed peace-keeping force of the UFP".


2) The Star Fleet is permanently under the control of the Federation Council.



3) The Star Fleet is to be used for scientific exploration when not being used for the purposes of maintaining interplanetary peace.


Economic + Social Council


1) The Economic council will aim to secure higher standards of living, full employment and fundamental freedoms for all UFP Citizens


2) UFP members agree to fundamentally accept the rights of all intelligent lifeforms regardless of gender, culture, language or religion.


3) UFP members should act as "good neighbours" toward non-UFP members in outlying regions.



Articles of Federation


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