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In the
fictional universe A fictional universe, also known as an imagined universe or a constructed universe, is the internally consistent fictional setting used in a narrative or a work of art. This concept is most commonly associated with works of fantasy and scie ...
of ''
Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...
'', the United Federation of Planets (UFP) is the interstellar government with which, as part of its space force
Starfleet Starfleet is a fictional organization in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. Within this fictional universe, Starfleet is a uniformed space force maintained by the United Federation of Planets ("the Federation") as the principal means for conduct ...
, most of the characters and starships of the franchise are affiliated. Commonly referred to as "the Federation", it was introduced in the original ''Star Trek'' television series. The survival, success, and growth of the Federation and its principles of freedom have become some of the ''Star Trek'' franchise's central themes. The Federation is an organization of numerous
planet A planet is a large, Hydrostatic equilibrium, rounded Astronomical object, astronomical body that is generally required to be in orbit around a star, stellar remnant, or brown dwarf, and is not one itself. The Solar System has eight planets b ...
ary sovereignties, including Earth and Vulcan. The franchise focuses on Starfleet, the exploration and defense arm of the Federation, rather than the government. Viewers are rarely given details of the internal workings of the government; however, many episodes refer to the rules and laws that the Federation imposes on the characters and their adventures.


Development

Early in the first season of ''Star Trek'', Captain
Kirk Kirk is a Scottish and former Northern English word meaning 'church'. The term ''the Kirk'' is often used informally to refer specifically to the Church of Scotland, the Scottish national church that developed from the 16th-century Reformation ...
had said the ''Enterprise''s authority came from the United Earth Space Probe Agency. Bases visited in the series were labeled "Earth Outposts". In August 1966, Gene L. Coon was hired by
Gene Roddenberry Eugene Wesley Roddenberry Sr. (August 19, 1921 – October 24, 1991) was an American television screenwriter and producer who created the science fiction series and fictional universe ''Star Trek.'' Born in El Paso, Texas, Roddenberry grew up ...
as a writer for ''Star Trek''. Actor
William Shatner William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1966 debut as the captain of the starship USS Enterpri ...
credits Coon with injecting the concepts of
Starfleet Starfleet is a fictional organization in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. Within this fictional universe, Starfleet is a uniformed space force maintained by the United Federation of Planets ("the Federation") as the principal means for conduct ...
, Starfleet Command and the United Federation of Planets into the show. One of the first
teleplay A teleplay is a screenplay or script used in the production of a scripted television program or series. In general usage, the term is most commonly seen in reference to a standalone production, such as a television film, a television play, or a ...
s Coon was credited with was " A Taste of Armageddon", where an ambassador on the ''Enterprise'' is referred to as a Federation official. Eventually, the series became an allegory for the current events of the
1960s counterculture The counterculture of the 1960s was an anti-establishment cultural phenomenon and political movement that developed in the Western world during the mid-20th century. It began in the early 1960s, and continued through the early 1970s. It is oft ...
, placing great emphasis on an anti-war message and depicting the United Federation of Planets, a vast interstellar alliance founded on the enlightened principles of liberty, equality, justice, progress, and peaceful co-existence, as an idealistic version of the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
.


Reception

The optimistic view of the future present in the Federation has been highlighted as unique among most
science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
, showing how "evolved" and "civilized" the future could conceivably be. It has been described, along with the series as a whole, as a vehicle to explore what it means to be human, as well as exploring mankind's efforts to build a better society. Other writers have noted that ''Star Trek''s Federation has the same logistical and philosophical difficulties of other utopian economic and political schemes that make it seem unrealistic. However, Star Trek has brought up this idea of coerced service labor being necessary for its utopian society in " The Measure of a Man", where Captain Jean-Luc Picard successfully defends Data's right to resign from Starfleet in a trial of his sentience, which extends the right not to work to robots alongside all other sentient beings following the in-universe year 42523.7 (2365 AD.). In 2020, ''
Screen Rant ''Screen Rant'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, video games, and comic books. It is owned by Valnet, parent of publications including Comic Book Resources, Collider, MovieWeb and XDA Developers. ...
'' noted the ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'' episode " First Contact" for exploring the United Federation of Planets and how it sometimes struggles with contact with aliens.


In-universe portrayal

Like many things in ''Star Trek'', episodes and
films A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of Visual arts, visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are gen ...
may reference entities or laws within the Federation, but viewers are never given a broad view of its inner workings. Many contemporary terms are assigned to the Federation, but parallels to current government bodies and their roles and responsibilities are pure speculation on the part of fans and critics. In the timeline of ''Star Trek'', the Federation was founded in 2161, after the events of '' Star Trek: Enterprise'' but before those of the other series in the franchise. Its founding members were
Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
, Vulcan,
Andoria "Kir'Shara" is the ninth episode of the Star Trek: Enterprise season 4, fourth season of the American science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Star Trek: Enterprise''. It was writer Mike Sussman (TV series writer/prod ...
, and Tellar. Over time it has expanded to include many more worlds through peaceful voluntary association. Some notable ones include Trill, Betazed, and Bolarus IX. References to the size of the Federation vary, with
Captain Kirk James Tiberius Kirk, often known as Captain Kirk, is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. Originally played by Canadian actor William Shatner, Kirk first appeared in ''Star Trek'' serving aboard the starship USS ''Enterp ...
stating in 2267 that humanity was on "a thousand planets and spreading out", while Captain Picard referred to the Federation (in 2373) as being made up of "over one hundred and fifty" planets, spread across 8,000 light-years. The Federation is a major galactic power, and at various times has been at war with other powers such as the
Klingon The Klingons ( ; Klingon language, Klingon: ''tlhIngan'' ) are a humanoid species of aliens in the science fiction franchise ''Star Trek''. Developed by screenwriter Gene L. Coon in 1967 for the Star Trek: The Original Series, original ''Star T ...
s, the Romulans and the
Dominion A dominion was any of several largely self-governance, self-governing countries of the British Empire, once known collectively as the ''British Commonwealth of Nations''. Progressing from colonies, their degrees of self-governing colony, colon ...
. The Federation's
space force A space force is a military branch of a nation's armed forces that conducts military operations in outer space and space warfare. The world's first space force was the Russian Space Forces, established in 1992 as an independent military service. ...
is called
Starfleet Starfleet is a fictional organization in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. Within this fictional universe, Starfleet is a uniformed space force maintained by the United Federation of Planets ("the Federation") as the principal means for conduct ...
, and, although most of ''Star Trek'' depicts peaceful exploration of the galaxy, Starfleet is also capable of considerable military might. Section 31 is a paramilitary espionage agency, described by writer Ira Steven Behr as "...doing the nasty stuff that no one wants to think about.". The Federation is depicted as a democratic republic, led by a
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
based in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
on Earth. Presidential powers include issuing pardons and declaring states of emergency. This president is supported by a cabinet. The Federation also has a
supreme court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
and a legislature, the Federation Council, with delegates from its various member worlds. A constitution and a charter have both been referred to as founding documents of the Federation. Several planets are shown to desire Federation membership. Joining the Federation is a complicated process, and requires meeting various criteria. Disqualifying criteria include
caste A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...
-based discrimination Accession (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) and violations of sentient rights. A single, unified government is not required for admission, but is desirable." Attached" (''The Next Generation'') Most Starfleet personnel are Federation citizens. Non-citizens can join Starfleet, but the process is more difficult, as with all non-Federation races. The Federation's counterpart in the
Mirror Universe The Mirror Universe is the setting of several narratives in the ''Star Trek'' science fiction franchise, a parallel universe existing alongside, but separate from, the fictional universe that is the main setting of ''Star Trek''. It resembles th ...
is the Terran Empire, a human-dominated
authoritarian Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and ...
state which has formed an empire by conquest.


Future of the Federation

In the ''Short Treks'' episode "Calypso", taking place at an unknown time in the distant future, the character of Craft refers to the "V'draysh". Little is said about the V'draysh, except that it is at war with Alcor IV, and that the V'draysh people are searching for artifacts from ancient human history. The writer of this episode,
Michael Chabon Michael Chabon ( ; born May 24, 1963) is an American novelist, screenwriter, columnist, and short story writer. Born in Washington, D.C., he spent a year studying at Carnegie Mellon University before transferring to the University of Pittsburgh, ...
, stated that the name "V'draysh" is intended to be a syncope for the word "Federation".Michael Chabon confirms the word V'draysh is a syncope
Michael Chabon's official
Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...
page In the 32nd century setting of the third season of '' Star Trek: Discovery'', the Federation had undergone a near-total collapse precipitated by "The Burn", a galaxy-wide disaster. This shrunk the Federation from a peak of 350 worlds to just 38, notably excluding both Earth and Ni'Var (formerly known as Vulcan). During the fourth season, the Federation is in the process of rebuilding itself; Starfleet Academy is reopened, new shipbuilding facilities are commissioned, and many former member worlds such as Trill, Ni'Var and Earth rejoin.


Non-canon references

In non-
canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...
sources like the original 1975 '' Star Trek Star Fleet Technical Manual'', Johnson's '' Worlds of the Federation'', and roleplaying games, the Federation's five founding members were Earth (or Terra), Vulcan, Tellar, Andor, and
Alpha Centauri Alpha Centauri (, α Cen, or Alpha Cen) is a star system in the southern constellation of Centaurus (constellation), Centaurus. It consists of three stars: Rigil Kentaurus (), Toliman (), and Proxima Centauri (). Proxima Centauri ...
. Some non-canon works assert that founding member Alpha Centauri is home to a human race (transplanted by the Preservers from classical third-century BC Greece) known as, variously, Centaurans, Centaurians, or Centauri. The 1980-to-2188 historical guide ''
Star Trek Spaceflight Chronology ''Star Trek Spaceflight Chronology'' is a 1980 book written and edited by Stan Goldstein and Fred Goldstein, and illustrated by Rick Sternbach. At the time of its publication it was the official history of the ''Star Trek'' universe. The first seas ...
'' posits the Federation as being incorporated at 'the first Babel Interplanetary Conference' in 2087. In books such as the ''Star Trek Star Fleet Technical Manual'' and the novel ''Articles of the Federation'', the Federation's founding document is the Articles of Federation.


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:United Federation Of Planets Star Trek governments Utopian fiction Fictional elements introduced in 1966 Fictional organizations