The Federation

The Federation grew outward from Earth. Its offer to other worlds combines protection, infrastructure, access to markets, and a system of law. The price is a loss of sovereignty: the authority of a world over its own affairs becomes part of a larger political order.

An interstellar order

The Federation’s power has material as well as military foundations. Protection and trade answer real needs. Infrastructure makes those benefits possible while also creating points through which access can be administered or withheld.

This combination is part of the setting’s central political tension. A promise of reliable institutions can be valuable to people living with insecurity, even as the terms of that promise give another power authority over them.

Opposition and independence

Worlds that reject Federation authority may stand alone or align with the Confederacy. The conflict between these powers has lasted decades by the opening of Geometry of Grace.

The Confederacy’s opposition does not make it a mirror of the Federation. It is a looser alignment of independent worlds, united in opposition to what they regard as Federation aggression.