Hey, remember “Mirror, Mirror”? We, somehow, oddly, revisit the concept in “Crossover” and the results are pretty good! Then in “The Collaborator”, we find out some shocking facts about Bajor. Also! Eric is happy he no longer has to force himself to say “Vedek Kai”.
Jenny
-If the Kai is a head of state, it maybe makes sense to campaign on DS9 – on the basis that that’s kind of Bajor’s ‘window’ to the rest of the galaxy? Like, if the Kai’s role is, in part, representing Bajor to the rest of the Galaxy (and, perhaps, the Prophets?)…
… in which case, Winn is a pretty horrible choice, on account of her repeated friction with Sisko (and through him, the Federation)? Not to mention the ties with the Circle, even if she disavowed them… Like, is this who you want being a diplomatic representative to the rest of the Quadrant?
… maybe it is. I mean, the Circle was discredited because the Cardassians were running guns to them, not necessarily because xenophobic anti-foreigner politics in general were discredited. Maybe people on the streets in Dakhur kind of want someone who will Stand Up to the Foreigners?
Eric Brasure
-I guess you could make the argument, but it still seems weird to me–how does anyone even know she’s there? The press doesn’t seem to exist in Star Trek. There are no reporters following her. It’s not a big deal, but since I follow politics pretty closely and am interested in how they work, it bugs me.
But yeah, Winn is a horrible choice for Kai, but at the end of the day, the decision was made based on dramatic possibilities.
Mindy
-I just watched the Collaborator for the first time since it aired. (Thanks for encouraging me on Twitter, Eric.)
Yeah, it was a shock to hear Bareil and Kira talking about her voting for Kai. Um, what? I always thought it was like the Cardinals electing the Pope. Which is a strange thing to think since this episode is basically all we ever hear about how Bajor elects a Kai.
Maybe it is as Richard says, and Bareil and Kira are just joking around? I kind of want that to be the answer, since it solves a lot of problems.
However, maybe all “church” members get to vote for the leader of the church? This wouldn’t require all Bajorans to vote, per say. Though, I don’t think we ever meet a Bajoran who is a nonbeliever. (Likely because their “gods” are actually real.) In this case, what is the role of the Vedeks? How are the Vedeks chosen? Aaaaah! What a crazy scene! How can this be?? Curse you, Eric, for making me watch this episode! I never even thought about this before!
No, I don’t think the Kai is the Head of State, akin to the Monarchy in a Parliamentary system. Because the Kai seems to have too much power for that to work. And as we see later, it isn’t that the Kai runs the government. We see that Bajoran Kai is a quite distinct position from Bajoran First Minister. But, we also see the Kai helping to negotiate major interplanetary treaties…..
At this point, I’m just going to have to assume that Bajor has two power bases. One lies with the civilian, secular government and the other lies with the religious hierarchy. Maybe this was never a problem before the Occupation. Maybe it isn’t a problem when the Kai and the First Minister have the same goals. But, it would become a big problem with someone like Winn in charge? Maybe a strong civilian central government is something Bajor never even had before the Occupation? Maybe it is *new*, and that is one of the reasons they are struggling so much to make it effective?
Ugh, I have no idea. It certainly helps to explain why the planet is a mess.
And Eric, I think you nailed it with Winn, that she wants the Federation gone because if Bajor becomes a Federation planet, then the Religious leader would lose a LOT of power. (Another argument against the idea of Kai being the Head of State.)
Amusingly, the utter disaster that is Cardassian politics in the course of DS9 makes much more sense. That system is far easier to comprehend in terms of real world analogies….. It just occurs to me that what “Crossover” said happened when Kirk encouraged reforms is SPOILER ALERT SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER RICHARD DON’T READ THIS SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER: very similar to the story we see play out on Cardassia over the course of DS9. Civilian reformers overthrowing a tyrannical military gov’t, who then are perceived as weak and are subsequently overrun by their enemies.
Jonas
-You know, thinking about the “Mirror Universe as Rome” thing, I realized a good way of expressing my fundamental objection to DS9’s treatment of the Federation.
Which is – empires don’t fall because they’re too nice, they fall because their internal contradictions cause crises they cannot overcome. The Roman Empire wasn’t destroyed by barbarians, it was destroyed by inequality and exploitation, by its tiny, corrupt elites claiming more and more resources for themselves while their great civilization went to hell. And if the US ever falls apart as a country, it won’t be because of ISIS, but because of its own elites setting it on the path for destruction.
So, to my mind, the Federation shouldn’t be seen as naive at all. They’re the only ones pursuing a strategy that won’t lead to collapse.