Like many Americans, I saw the new Star Trek movie over the weekend. In the opening scene a Federation captain demands that the enemy commander explain by what right he attacks a Federation ship. I expected the enemy to shout that, “The strong do what they can and the weak do what they must.” While the old realist mantra was never explicitly mentioned in Star Trek, I found the entire film terribly relevant to U.S. foreign policy at the beginning of the twenty-first century. I’ve tried not to spoil any key details, (except in the fourth point) but if you’re a stickler for knowing nothing going into a film, you may want to hold off.
The main enemy in Star Trek is, of course, not an official representative of his empire, but the leader of a rogue group. While the word “terrorist” is never used in the film, it is pretty clear that the enemy is precisely that. The group is going on a rampage, causing havoc in a mixture of revenge and to indirectly enact a change in their home society. (Notice how I split that infinitive? I’m pretty proud of it!) Indeed, their vessel is a peaceful, commercial ship that was modified to be able to inflict terrible damage. So, what can diplomats learn about dealing with terrorists from Star Trek? Well, I learned that it’s the military’s job! Seriously, in the film, starship captains are always trying to negotiate, with unsuccessful consequences. Hmm… diplomacy may not be a foreign policy lesson learned here.
Anyway, there’s also a torture scene in Star Trek. This short scene taught me that torture is a simple reliable source of enemy information. On the other hand, the bad guy does it, so it’s bad. Of course, there isn’t actually much physical abuse, so maybe it’s just enhanced interrogation. Well, it looks like we haven’t really learned anything here either. (Although Slate has a good article on this.)
This paragraph will spoil the ending, skip to the next one if that bothers you! At the end of the film, Kirk gets promoted from cadet to… captain. Well, I think this is something that the State Department can learn from. If the bureaucracy of the future has such an advanced system to recognize and promote talent, surely we can do a little better than the complicated review and board system we have to promote our foreign policy professionals. If someone is great at their job, why make them wait at least three years and jump through hoops to get a stretch position?
Well, I may not agree with some of Star Trek’s premises, but I thought it was fascinating how much the 23rd century looks like the 21st.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
If Starfleet were run by the State Department, we’d be watching a very different movie. I imagine that by the second hour, Kirk would be fighting for reimbursement for his cost-construct rather than the ice planet monster. Bones would be running around yelling, “Dammit Jim, I’m a doctor, NOT/NOT a physicist.” And I’m pretty sure no one would be quoting the FAM from memory.
Easy jabs aside, I’m not sure the movie was so down on diplomacy. The Nero situation seems like one that diplomacy can’t fix. Nero was created by a freak natural occurrence that Spock (acting on behalf of the Federation? I don’t remember) couldn’t prevent. Nero was motivated strictly by revenge–waiting around 25 years just so he could nab future Spock and make him watch the destruction of his planet. I’m not sure that Nero planned to return to his timeline or aid the Romulan Empire in the alternate timeline. Didn’t he explicitly disavow allegiance with the Romulans?
In any event, what could the Federation have done to prevent Nero from becoming a terrorist? It’d be one thing if he became a terrorist because of an imperial occupation, or because the Federation was meddling in Romulan politics, or because the Federation was running roughshod over Romulus economically. But the Federation couldn’t have prevented that star going supernova, and their plan to protect Romulus seemed half-hazard at best. Nero seems like one of those terrorists that powerful countries can’t avoid creating–there’s a reason Nero went after the most powerful empire in the Star Trek world and not some minor one.
About the cadet to captain thing, this reminds me of the U.S. Naval Academy class of 1943, which graduated a year early because of Hitler’s invasions of Norway, Poland, France, and others in 1939 and 1940. It seems like that’s what happened in Star Trek: Kirk’s class was the most senior class, so they got promoted into duty because the main fleet was away doing something else. Remember, there were other cadets still at Starfleet Academy who weren’t promoted–they were running around during the big drill scene.
Anyway, thanks for the consistently high-quality posts! I look forward to reading more.
I haven’t seen the movie yet, as I don’t have easy access to a theatre here in rural Korea, but I look forward to seeing it, as it seems to be getting universally good reviews. I’m glad you wrote this post, as I’ll now be watching it with this in mind. :)
> If Starfleet were run by the State Department, we’d be watching a very different movie.
I dare not do it Captain! All the money for spare parts was eaten up by ICASS charges and the OBO inspector is coming next week