Star Trek: The Powers that Be

This article is actually a forum post responding to an argument regarding the status of the Cardassian Union and how it compares, in terms of power, to other civilizations in the Star Trek universe. Since I went into so much detail, I figured I shouldn't waste the effort and decided to turn that forum post into a blog article. Enjoy. Please comment with any questions, and share this to your Trekkie or Trekker friends!

Since there is still confusion as to who qualifies as a Major Power in the Alpha Quadrant let's break it down a bit. There are several types of political/military powers and different types of influence are classified under different categories. Each category is rather broad and basic but also clarifies some distinction between power levels and power focuses. Power Level is about literally who is stronger, while Power Focus clarifies how a nation state might use their power if it is a defining attribute.

For example, in the real world we have Mega Power, Super Power, Major Power, Major Isolationist Power, Major Mercantile Power, and Minor Power (Isolationist and Mercantile Powers can have Minor Power versions as well). We can apply all of these to Star Trek. To be honest, no one really knows what to do with Raider States or Pirate based societies, so they tend
to be classified on their own - the Vikings being a good historical example.

Mega Powers: The Star Trek galaxy has at least 3 known Mega Powers. Nation-States who can project their power over vast distances and with undeniable superiority over even other very substantial Nation-States.

1. The Borg

2. The Dominion

3. The Voth

Super Powers: There are several known Super Powers in the galaxy, being able to project their will over great distances and with considerable superiority over most civilizations.

1. The Federation

2. The Klingon Empire

3. The Romulan Star Empire

The Romulan Star Empire often fluctuated between Super Power status and Major Isolationist Power status, depending on their political priorities at the time. Technically the Romulans would fit under both categories.

It should also be noted that some of the Delta Quadrant races encountered by Voyager might fit into the classification of Super Power but I don't have enough information right now to claim which ones could or could not.

Major Powers: This is the category that has been the focus of so much confusion in this thread. Major Powers are capable and interested in spreading their influence among the stars and they maintain a considerable presence in their region of space. No Major Power is capable of defeating a Super Power in terms of military or economic strength. Major Powers may easily maintain power over small Minor Powers and can remain competitive with other large Nation-States.

1. The Cardassian Union

Technically, the Cardassian Union is potentially the only formal Major Power in the Alpha Quadrant thanks to the various distinctions in political and military strength. Other Nation-States in the region are or might be more powerful but their structure and priorities constitute a different classification.

It is unknown whether several other species of the Alpha Quadrant can be termed as Major Powers or Minor Powers, such as the Tamarians or the Sheliak since so little is known about them currently. The Sheliak, for example, are described as having power over multiple star systems but the extent of their power is completely unknown. The Tzenkethi are also found in this grey area. Until more information is made available, the rarity of information should be taken to imply a Minor Power status for these civilizations.

Major Isolationist Powers: These are powerful Nation-States that may have the technological and military strength to compete with other Major Powers, and potentially even Super Powers, but are so withdrawn from foreign affairs and focus on the preservation of their pre-existing territories that they warrant a separate classification of power.

1. Tholian Assembly

2. Romulan Star Empire (see Super Power for more information)

3. Breen Confederacy

The Breen Confederacy is another wild card in that their behavior is considerably varied, making them difficult to place in a single category. They appear to be part Major Power, part Major Isolationist Power, and part Raider State, depending on when or by whom they are described. There is no question as to their military might and technology, it is merely their political and military behavior that would determine their formal classification.

Major Mercantile Powers: This category is based off the political and military behaviors of the Dutch and Venetians in real world history. They focused primarily on trade but were still considered some of the most powerful Nation-States of their respective time periods. While a Major Mercantile Power may have the strength to compete with Major Powers and potentially some Super Powers their behavioral focus and priority is trade and defend the trade first, everything else second.

1. The Ferengi Alliance

Minor Powers: This is obviously the most numerous category in any political or military sphere. These Nation-States may either control small territories lacking the technology or resources to expand their influence, or they have the strength and technology to expand but do not have the will to do so. In Star Trek, Minor Powers might control multiple star systems but only in a very localized region.

1. Sheliak (see Major Power for more information)

2. Tamarians

3. Tzenkethi

4. Gorn Hegemony

5. So'na

Raider States: This category is reserved for civilizations that focus mostly on piracy and raiding behaviors and they are often far less centrally organized than their competitors. Raider States can be considerably powerful, even to potentially rival the strength of Major Powers or Super Powers but either their lack of central government or their preference towards piracy determine a unique classification for them.

1. Orion Pirates

2. Naussican Raiders

3. Kazon Sects

4. Hirogen Hunters

5. Breen Confederacy (see Major Isolationist Power for more information)

All of these classifications have real world applications and were learned through an education in politics. Each category has room for crossovers and grey area if some Nation-States demonstrate traits belonging to multiple categories. Please know that these classifications do not always clarify how strong a Nation-State is within that specific category, some Minor Powers will be more powerful than other Minor Powers, etc.

In the real world the United States, Russia, and China are described as Super Powers (with some debate as to whether or not the US should be classified as a Mega Power), while nations like Turkey, Egypt, and Italy being described as Major Powers. In some cases the term Regional Major Power (or just Regional Power) can be used to varying degrees - it can reference Nation-States that fit into any of the above categories but the lens is more focused to view the specified Nation-State and its immediate neighbors. Placement in a Regional Power system does not necessarily mean that that Nation-State is superior or inferior to Nation-States in other Regional Power Systems.

I hope this explains things more clearly. So, even though the Cardassians are easily defeated by the Federation or the Klingons, they still are a Major Power considering the scope of their influence and their comparison to the Minor Powers of the Alpha Quadrant. So, even though they may or may not be outclassed by the Breen or Tholians, they would not likely be outclassed by Minor Powers such as the Sheliak or the Talarians. The Cardassians are repeatedly described as more advanced than the Federation but less robust in their resources and technological application than what we clearly see in the Federation and the other Super Powers. Inferiority to the Federation cannot be taken as an inability to be counted as a Major Power - just as the inferiority of Turkey to the United States cannot disqualify Turkey from being classified as a Major Power.

A debate can and should still be held as to exactly where in the rankings of pure military might the Cardassians might be placed, in comparison to the Major Isolationist Powers, Major Mercantile Powers, and Raider States. But no matter where Cardassia might ultimately rank, declaring the Cardassian Union a Minor Power is inaccurate at best.