Hi.

I was wondering - what if most of the Alpha powers, in the aftermath of Operation Unity, agree to the establishment of a loose 'Alpha League', akin to the League of Nations or UN on Earth?

This organisation would at least try to facilitate negotiations between the member powers, oversee the sharing of new discoveries outside Alpha proper (such as in the LMC, Omega et al), promote trade and cultural exchange between its members, and act as an off-the-shelf infrastructure in the event that a future external threat opens up.

(While a body like this would be quite hard to imagine before the Andro War, the severe jolt to the collective system provided by the intruders from M31 could make the idea of such a body seem like a good idea...)

The powers would have their own motives for signing up - the ISC, Gorns and Feds would go for it as a means of pursuing peace, the Klingons would go for it out of pragmatism (and there are hints that there is a slight shift in policy among the post-Unity rulers of the Empire, which might be more open to the idea) - but everyone would at least use it as a shield behind which the onerous task of reconstruction would continue.

Now, it may be the case that the Roms could be too proud to join - or rely on a more cynical viewpoint, and join as 'observers' - after all, the Star Empire is surrounded on three sides, and is running low on avenues of expansion in Alpha. But if Romulus can keep the neighbours quiet while long-range missions sign up more far-flung realms to Imperial control...

Of course, this would not necessarily be a wholly successful body - note how Greece and Turkey, ostensibly NATO allies, have had their arguments in the past - and would have little to no actual power, but would be a good example of the efforts made to avoid the kind of near-disaster that the Andro War represented.

Of course, whether said League holds out in the face of the Xorks, or its members' rivalries, is another story...


How does this sound?


Gary

By michael john campbell (Michaelcampbell) on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 - 09:07 am: Edit

It sound workable but I'm not sure it lends itself well to THE TRADE WARS which will be something a reason to resolve SFBV battles in the era Y205-220.

By Gary Carney (Nerroth) on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 - 09:44 am: Edit

I'll refer to an old phrase describing the League of Nations - 'The League succeeds when sparrows quarrel. It fails when eagles fall out'.

An Alpha League can make an effort to arbitrate disputes, and settle differences, but there's not much it can do if a new Kzinti-Lyran War erupts.

And perhaps the 'Trade wars' relate as much to clashes among long-range exploration/commerce ships, or to proxy wars fought by allies of rival Alpha powers elsewhere, as it does to conflicts in Alpha itself?


Gary

By Joseph Riggs (Junior) on Wednesday, May 30, 2007 - 07:06 pm: Edit

With the ISC "subjugation", quickly followed by the Andromedan invasion, I suspect that there would be channels opened up for emergency contact between the various powers. I don't know that the result would necessarily be the SFU version of either the League of Nations or the UN. For one thing, you probably wouldn't ever want the Lyran and Kzinti ambassadors in the same meeting.

But it wouldn't surprise me if there was a mechanism in place so that if, for instance, a half-dozen Dominators suddenly start rampaging through Gorn space five years after Unity, even the Hydrans and Lyrans would know almost immediately. They might not be able to help the Gorn deal with the problem. But they could at least put their forces on alert. And the Romulans might even be willing to assist somewhat in keeping an eye on the shared border while the Gorn withdraw some forces to deal with the threat (of course, don't expect the Romulans to give up every advantage that they got from such a situation).

By Michael C. Grafton (Mike_Grafton) on Thursday, May 31, 2007 - 09:15 am: Edit

I would expect LIMITED Ambassadorships to and from EVERY race.

So, for example, the Kzinti have an embassy with 10 or so beings in the Romulan capitol and a dozen or so more that perform consular duties within the Romulan Empire.

So the capitol team would issue your visa and perform some negotiations over trade/ taxes/ reciprocal legal issues/ etc.

And the Consular guys are wandering around bailing out Kzinti citizens that drink too much Romulan Ale and use statues of the Praetor as a scratching post, etc.

As for the Lyrans and Kzinti, they might employ some kind of stand in to represent their interests.

So perhaps a subject race? Or they perform all contact through their embassy in WYN space? Or they employ WYN citizens to do whatever has to be done outside the actual embassy, while their own citizens do the stuff inside?

QUESTION: Can Lyrans and Kzinti interbreed? Like within the WYN Cluster are their halfbreeds? Alternately can SOME of them impersonate the other race with some effort? So a burly Lyran can pretend to be Kzinti? A scrawny Kzinti can pretend to be Lyran?

By John Trauger (Vorlonagent) on Friday, June 01, 2007 - 02:52 pm: Edit

I expect the idea might be tried. I expect it will collapse the same way as on Earth.

The Trade wars might auger the collapse or occur "under the radar", undermining the League over time.

By Stacy Brian Bartley (Bartley) on Friday, June 01, 2007 - 04:02 pm: Edit

I always thought the Lyrans were build more like Pumas and Kzin more like Lions.
regards
Stacy