posted
Er, yes, I'm as reasonably familiar with WWI history as the next guy. It's the connection to Star Trek I don't see. I really don't see the Cardassian War as anything like WWI. Unless you're suggesting that the UFP treaty with the Cardassian Union was as punishing, but that hardly seems like a supportable claim.
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
The parallel is that, in both cases, the "good guys" won, made the "bad guys" sign a treaty, then sat back and felt good about themselves. The "bad guys" just got more and more pissed off, then eventually came back w/ even more power than they'd had before and started a new war.
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
I get the parallel, though it seems a little tenuous. There's little evidence that the Cardassian Peace Treaty of 2367 was imposed by the victors and seen by the Cardassians as punishing and humiliating in the same way the the Treaty of Versailles was. I mean, the implication was given fairly frequently that the Cardassians fared worse than the Federation in the conflict, and the Cardassian Union lost some star systems, yes, but then again, the Feds evidently gave up some, too. That seems to imply that the final deal (which must have been negotiated after years of some kind of cease-fire considering the wars were likely wrapped up before TNG began) was a fairly-negotiated deal rather than imposed winner's justice.
If anything, Cardassia was a bit more like Mussolini's Italy. There was the delusion in the eyes of the Cardassian citizenry that they were a quadrant power the equal of the Federation or the Klingons or Romulans when the cold hard truth was that they weren't. Dukat cozied up with the Dominion as a possible means to achieve the end of great power status that Cardassia's public believed was rightfully deserved. It, of course, proved to be something less than a equal partnership.
-------------------- "I was surprised by the matter-of-factness of Kafka's narration, and the subtle humor present as a result." (Sizer 2005)
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
I'm with Tom. I don't believe we ever heard anything about Cardassia being forced to cut back its production of war material (though I imagine there was some minor language of the sort included). And it certainly appeared that the UFP gave up more space along the Demilitarized Zone than the Union did. (Perhaps this was to make up for the withdrawl from Bajor, which seemed to be a fairly large concession on the part of the Cardassians. Though it did appear that the Bajoran resistance was making the occupation increasingly expensive anyway.)
Of course, I'm sure it must have seemed like a larger blow to your average Elim Q. Sixpack.
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capped
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posted
i dont think the 2367 treaty was like versailles.. we know that the actual Cardassian fighting ended in the 2350s or early 2360s and it was basically just a disputed border by the time that treaty came out.. i think that giving the Cardies the demilitarized zone was a failed attempt at appeasement of their new growing military might.. an old mistake, in light of the earlier conflict we are comparing it to..
Registered: Sep 2001
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posted
I don't mean to drag you in front of the People's Analogy Review Board, Tim. I just didn't think it was really all that close.
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
It wasn't supposed to be close. It was just the first comparison that came to mind, for the reasons I already stated.
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
I agree with TSN. The real and the fictional histories aren't exactly parallel, but there are several subtle similarities. For one, when Cardassia allied itself with the Dominion it was because, as Dukat said, it had become a third rate power. A beaten people if you will, what with the Klingon invasion, Marquis raids and the overthrow of the Military government. Much like Germany was after WWI and like Germany, Cardassia turned their leadership over to an apparently superior body; which of course was the Dominion (for Germany, the Nazi Party) to rebuild the nation to the glory of the Empire that once was and beyond. There are several other WWII similarities that I need not go into; among which are an alliance with an alien force (Breen/Japan), last minute side switching, the US (Romulans) being forced into the war on the British (Federation) side.
Like I said, not exact parallels, just familiar patterns.
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