Earth governments (Star Trek)

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In the fictional Star Trek universe, several political organisations take power over part or all of Earth. Most of these Earth governments are only mentioned in passing once or twice, and little is known of their history, geography, and politics, or of their rise and fall.

To clarify the article, the various Star Trek series will be referred to by their standard abbreviations. The original series is denoted by TOS, Star Trek: The Next Generation by TNG, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine by DS9, Star Trek: Voyager by VOY and Star Trek: Enterprise by ENT.

Contents

[edit] Global

[edit] New United Nations

Little is known about the New United Nations (NUN), though its name implies either a relationship or similarity to the current United Nations. They are only mentioned in "Encounter at Farpoint" (TNG). The dialogue in question is:

Lt. Cdr. Data: "Objection, your honor. In the year 2036, the New United Nations declared that no Earth citizen could be made to answer for the crimes of their race or forbearers."
Q: "Objection denied! This is a court of the year 2079, by which time more 'rapid progress' had caused all 'United Earth' nonsense to be abolished."

In Star Trek chronology, this means that the NUN was in existence after the Eugenics Wars of the 1990s and the beginning of World War III in 2026. Whether it predates either one of these conflicts is unknown.

[edit] United Earth

The United Earth (UE) is the Earth's world government in the "present" for all Star Trek series. It existed as early as 2067, unified all of Earth's nations by 2150, and still exists in the 24th century. The episodes "Demons" (ENT) and "Terra Prime" (ENT) established that the United Earth is a parliamentary system of government. In 2155, Nathan Samuels served as one of the ministers.

Of all the United Earth's agencies, the United Earth Space Probe Agency (UESPA) is by far the most famous. According to the episode "Friendship One" (VOY), the UESPA existed in 2067, when it was responsible for launching the Friendship One space probe. This date is the earliest canon reference to the United Earth. This means the United Earth was well-established 31 years after a date in which the New United Nations (above) was known to exist, hinting at the possibility of a relationship between the two organisations.

In "Encounter at Farpoint" (TNG), Q mentions that the United Earth had been abolished by 2079, in the post-atomic horror of World War III. However, he was replying to a comment about the New United Nations, making it unclear if he really meant the United Earth, or if he got the two organisations mixed up. If Q is right, then this leaves two possibilities. The first is that the United Earth was dissolved completely, and was restarted again at a later date. The second possibility is that it was only banned in the more severely hit regions of Earth, where life regressed to a more barbaric level, but continued to operate uninterrupted elsewhere.

The admission of the last of Earth's nations into the United Earth was pinpointed in "Attached" (TNG), and described as a voluntary national decision:

Beverly Crusher: "Think about Earth. What if one of the old nation-states, say, Australia, had decided not to join the world government in twenty-one fifty?"

Nations in the UE retain some of their autonomy, as evidenced from the fact the European Hegemony (below) continued to operate its own national space agency for at least 40 years after 2150, the latest date it could have joined the UE.

In 2161, the United Earth was one of the founding members of the United Federation of Planets. However, admission to the Federation does not dissolve the planetary government, and so the United Earth continued to exist after that date. Indeed, Captain Kirk introduces his ship as the United Earth Ship Enterprise in "The Corbomite Maneuver" (TOS), which takes place in 2266. Later that same year, Kirk reports the destruction of the USS Antares to the UESPA in "Charlie X" (TOS). And in the next year's episode "Tomorrow Is Yesterday" (TOS), Kirk states that our authority is the United Earth Space Probe Agency.

The last canon reference to the United Earth was in 2293. In the movie Star Trek Generations, the UESPA logo can be seen on the Enterprise-B, indicating that the organisation collaborated with Starfleet in the spaceship's construction. Although no other references are made regarding the United Earth's existence after that date, given the utopian political and social stability of Earth in that era, it is safe to assume that it is still Earth's governing body.

References to United Earth were to appear in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episodes "Homefront" and "Paradise Lost", to explain why the Federation President was able to declare martial law on Earth rather than involve United Earth leadership, but this was cut from the episode due to time constraints. [1] Specifically, Ronald D. Moore comments on this:

As for the Earth Govt vs. Fed Govt issue, this was something we wrestled with in the story break. We wanted to tell the story of an attempted military coup of the Federation and that meant dealing with the Fed president. However, that meant the troops "in the streets" had to be on Earth and that Earth itself had to be under martial law since the Fed is headquartered on Earth. We discussed having the Prez "federalize" the Earth defense forces or supersede the authority of an indigenous Earth Govt, but the story kept getting too complicated and we didn't want to start mentioning all these other players and organizations that we weren't going to see.

[edit] Regional

[edit] European Hegemony

The European Hegemony (EH) was a loose alliance of European nations, considered an important precursor to the United Earth. It was mentioned in the episode "Up the Long Ladder" (TNG), in the following dialogue:

Computer: "Signal analysis complete. Distress beacon used by the European Hegemony."
William Riker: "The European Hegemony?"
Jean-Luc Picard: "A loose alliance that formed in the early twenty-second century. It was the first step toward a world government. You should read more history, Number One. Computer, bracket exact dates when this beacon was in general use."
Computer: "Old Earth calendar, 2123 until 2190."

It is important to note that the dates the computer gives are not those of the existence of the EH, but simply those during which the EH space agency used a specific distress signal. In fact, the EH existed long before 2123, since the EH is a precursor to the United Earth, which existed as early as 2067 (see "United Earth" above). This fact however creates a conflict with Picard's statement, which puts the "formation" of the EH in the early 2100s, fifty years later.

The ultimate fate of the EH is unknown. It must have joined the United Earth in 2150 at the latest (see "United Earth" above), but clearly continued operating its own national space agency for at least 40 years afterwards. This shows that member states of the United Earth retained some degree of national identity.

The European Hegemony was first mentioned in Star Trek only 3 years before the founding of the European Union in 1992.

[edit] African Confederation

The African Confederation is a political body governing at least part of the African continent in the 24th century. Like all nations of Earth in that era, it is a member of the United Earth. Interestingly, another African government, the United States of Africa (see below), was known to have existed a century prior. Whether it was a precursor to the African Confederation or a different nation that shared the same continent is unknown.

The African Confederation was only mentioned once. A screen display in "The Next Phase" (TNG) indicated that Geordi La Forge was born in the African Confederation in 2335.

[edit] European Alliance

In the 24th century, the European Alliance is a political entity on the European continent on Earth, incorporating the city of Brussels amongst others. (TNG: "The Price") It is most likely a successor to the 21st century European Hegemony regime, thought to have been the first stirrings of world government on Earth during this timeframe. (TNG: "Up The Long Ladder")

Most probably, the European Alliance incorporates the whole European continent, but the possibility also exists that it is only part of the continent. It then would not be clear if this power ever coexisted with the European Hegemony, or possibly shares some other relation to it.

It remains unknown which competences this alliance carries, since Earth is governed by the United Earth Government since the early 22nd century. However, the European Alliance might state a joint effort of the European people to create a unified administration and representation at the global government and, thus, might be very similar to the European Union.

[edit] United States of Africa

The United States of Africa is a political body governing at least part of the African continent in the 23rd century. Like all nations of Earth in that era, it is a member of the United Earth. Nothing is known about its relationship with the African Confederation (see above).

The United States of Africa was never mentioned in a Star Trek episode or movie, thus making it non-canon. However, it comes up in several semi-canon sources. Most notably, the writers' bible for Star Trek: The Original Series and Uhura's profile on the official startrek.com website [2] both state that Uhura was born in the United States of Africa in 2239.

[edit] Eastern Coalition

The Eastern Coalition (ECON) was a faction in the Third World War, meaning it existed circa 2026—2053. Although the nations composing it are unknown, its enemies included the United States. The relationship between the ECON and Colonel Phillip Green's eco-terrorist group is unknown.

The ECON was mentioned in Star Trek: First Contact. Upon witnessing the Borg attack on Earth in 2063, Lily Sloane assumes that it was, in fact, an ECON attack. This indicates that the ECON was still a dangerous world power in that year.

In the audio commentary for the Special Edition DVD release of Star Trek: First Contact, Brannon Braga states that the ECON was originally supposed to be China, but all references to it were changed to the ECON before filming took place.

[edit] National

[edit] United States of America

In the Star Trek universe, the United States of America existed until at least the year 2079. In the episode "The Royale" (TNG), an American flag with 52 stars is shown onscreen. The dialogue in the episode states that this flag was adopted by the USA in 2033 — during World War III — and used until 2079 — during the post-atomic horror mentioned in "Encounter at Farpoint". The fate of the USA after that date is unknown. They could have simply changed the flag again (adding or removing stars, or changing the design completely), or a more drastic event could have led to the dissolution of the Union. However, the sighting of a street address marked "USA, Earth" in 2154 in "Affliction" (ENT) suggest that the USA survived in some form. Equally, the viewscreen displays of "Arizona, USA, Earth", and "Indiana, USA, Earth" in 2377 ("Imperfection" (VOY)) indicate that the USA exists in some form through to the late 24th century.

[edit] United Kingdom and its Royal Family

In Enterprise it is shown that Malcolm Reed is one of the few men in his family who did not join the British Royal Navy, a fact which led to some friction with his father (who is also a Royal Navy veteran).

This means that not only did Britain survive World War III but so did its Royal Family. It also implies that Earth nations still have their own military in some form or another in the mid 22nd Century.

[edit] Ireland

Ireland is a nation of Earth, located on the island of the same name. In 1920, it was divided when Northern Ireland was formed. The following year the rest of the island became the Irish Free State following the Irish War of Independence, which in turn seceded from the British sphere of influence in 1949 to become the Republic of Ireland. According to "The High Ground", this division lasted until 2024, when Ireland was reunited.

In the episode "Homefront", it is learned that Miles O'Brien was born in Ireland, in the city of Killarney, in 2328. This means that Ireland is one of the member nations of the United Earth (see above).

[edit] Canada

Little is said of the fate of Canada in Star Trek. However, in "Blaze of Glory" (DS9), Michael Eddington said he had a 22nd century Canadian loonie he called his "lucky loony [sic]". This means Canada was among the few nations to survive World War III, and went on well into the following period of post-atomic chaos. In "Lower Decks" (TNG) we learn Ensign Sam Lavelle's grandfather comes from Canada, meaning that at least the name has survived into the 23rd or 24th century.

[edit] Brazil

Brazil is mentioned in DS9 and ENT. The nation is treated as a Utopian and tropical paradise. One of the surviving countries in World War III, Brazil is a full member of United Earth.

[edit] Chronology

To clarify, here is a chronology of the rise and fall of the various governments mentioned on this page, along with some key events of Earth's history.

1996
The Eugenics Wars end.
2024
Ireland is reunited.
2026
World War III begins.
The Eastern Coalition probably exists at this date.
2036
The New United Nations exists at this date.
2053
Latest possible date for the creation of the Eastern Coalition.
World War III ends.
2063
Zefram Cochrane's first warp flight.
First contact with the Vulcans.
The Eastern Coalition still exists at this date.
2067
The European Hegemony has existed for a long time before this date.
Latest possible date for the creation of the United Earth and the United Earth Space Probe Agency.
2079
Either the New United Nations, the United Earth, or both, have been abolished in part of or in all the world at this point.
Last year the existence of the United States of America is confirmed.
2150
The last independent nations decide to join the United Earth.
2161
Creation of the United Federation of Planets. One of the founding members is the United Earth.
2190
The European Hegemony still exists at this date.
2239
The United States of Africa exist at this date.
2293
The United Earth and the United Earth Space Probe Agency still exist at this date.
2328
Ireland, and the city of Killarney, still exist at this date.
2335
The African Confederation exists at this date.
2375
Brazil still exists at this date.
2379
The United Earth probably still exists at this date.

[edit] See also

[edit] General

[edit] Star Trek

[edit] External links

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