Of course - in most cases speaking quietly and carry a big stick will be sufficient. In other cases the best option is to park half a dozen battleships off the coast and make it plain that if the country in question fails to obey instructions they will have a considerable mess to clean up.
First off it "speak softly" not quietly. Teddy was not a quiet man. Secondly, the idea of putting battleships on someones home soil is just stupid. It's a morron's way of dealing with someone. It leaves no room for either side to move or give way on. If you come in with battleships then that means you've got a fight on your mind.
When did I say anything else? The "battleships off the coast" solution is based off a few 19th century RN actions, specifically the Great Anglo-Zanzibar War of 1896. 8) The procedure is as follows: show up off the coast, state your demands, open fire if they're reluctant to follow instructions, and once they surrender, give them the bill.
It only works if you've got clear superiority in firepower, and is best used when the object of your attention is being either bolshy or outright hostile, but in those cases overwhelming firepower is a very effective tool.
Only two things are infinite - the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the universe: Albert Einstein.
That was the sort of action that maintained the Pax Britanica for decades - it was the Germans' mass commerce-warfare during the world wars that destroyed Britain as a great power.
Oh, and the Zanzibar War was only a century or so ago.
Only two things are infinite - the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the universe: Albert Einstein.
Gunboat diplomacy isn't something that can be applied to the great powers - it's applied to douse brushfire wars that would otherwise smoulder causing local trading problems, and might flare up into something worse. Either way, the principle worked well throughout the 19th century.
Only two things are infinite - the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the universe: Albert Einstein.
It's the way of all great powers to ultimately surrender that power to the next. Austria gave way to France, France gave way to Britain, Britain gave way to the United States, and the United States will ultimately give way to China. Which power will ultimately replace the Federation we don't yet know, but it will eventually happen.
Only two things are infinite - the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the universe: Albert Einstein.
The UFP isn't a single power though. It's made up of hundreds of races, anyone of them could be the next growing power. The Vulcan's were once a power, followed by the Andorian's, followed by Human's who may just be followed by Bajorans. The Klingons are busy rebuilding and reinventing themselves. The Romulans just don't have the ability to take power over anything since they are on the verge of a civil war. Who's left?
Well, the Tholians had a non-aggression pact with the Dominion, so they stayed out of the war. They probably pose a much larger threat post-war.
There is only one way of avoiding the war – that is the overthrow of this society. However, as we are too weak for this task, the war is inevitable. -L. Trotsky, 1939
The presence of diplomatic relations in DS9 leads me to think that either the Tholians weren't looking to take advantage of the UFP's post-war state; or, the UFP saw that particular possibility and took steps to prevent it.
I can't stand nothing dull
I got the high gloss luster
I'll massacre your ass as fast
as Bull offed Custer
Technically the Federation isnt THAT much weaker. We can auume they will build the ships lost pretty fast and they now unlike almost any time in the past have huge fleets assembled.
Not the right time to pick a fight with them.
What does defeat mean to you?
Nothing it will never come. Death before defeat. I don’t bend or break. I end, if I meet a foe capable of it. Victory is in forcing the opponent to back down. I do not. There is no defeat.
mlsnoopy wrote:In Trek the ultimate galaxy power are the Borg, so it would be better to ask wich power will replace the Borg as the ultimate galaxy power.
Either the Borg or the Dominion.
Either way, to clarify the point the Federation is currently the dominant AQ power.
Only two things are infinite - the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the universe: Albert Einstein.
I think that has to be one of my favorite DITL debates.
What does defeat mean to you?
Nothing it will never come. Death before defeat. I don’t bend or break. I end, if I meet a foe capable of it. Victory is in forcing the opponent to back down. I do not. There is no defeat.
