Section 31: Dark Side Of The Federation?

Its mission was supposedly to protect the interests of the United Federation of Planets by any means necessary does Section 31 represent the proverbial “dark side” of the Federation’s supposedly high ideals?

By: Ringo Bones

Renewed discussion of this rather esoteric aspect of the Star Trek universe was rekindled after the second season of Star Trek Discovery began visiting yet again on how might this rather secretive arm of the Federation came to be in the Dominion War era of Star Trek Deep Space Nine and its probable origins in Star trek Enterprise. But what makes Section 31 such an interesting aspect of the current Star Trek lore?

Probably founded in the 2140s primarily as an organization to protect the security interests of United Earth, the rather secretive organization known as Section 31 eventually evolved to protect the security interests of the United Federation of Planets. During the mid 23^rd Century, they were considered a critical division of Starfleet Intelligence. While by the 24^th Century, they were believed to be a rogue organization not considered a part of the Federation. The organization claimed to be sanctioned by the original Starfleet Charter:  Article 14, Section 31 of which allowed for extraordinary measures to be taken in times of extreme threat.

According to Memory Alpha, Section 31 was also somewhat comparable to the Romulan Tal Shiar or Cardassian Obsidian Order except unlike the latter two, it operated on its own without Starfleet's knowledge or consent. In the 2250s, it was mentioned in rumors and even had its own insignia that was recognized, a black Starfleet badge. By the 2370s, Section 31's very existence was a deeply buried secret, known only to a handful of people beyond its own membership. (DS9: "Inquisition") 

Perhaps Section 31's darkest aspect was that, while it had existed since the beginning of Starfleet, it was an autonomous department, having operated for over two centuries with no oversight or accountability whatsoever, even free to kill those it deemed a threat to Federation interests at its own discretion. (DS9: "When It Rains...") By the time of the Dominion War, at least some of Starfleet Command's top officers knew for certain of Section 31's existence, and on occasion even worked with them to serve the interests of the Federation. However, for the sake of propriety, they tended to keep as much distance from the organization as possible. (DS9: "Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges") As far as Section 31 itself was concerned, it seemed to have well-placed agents in nearly every level of both the civilian Federation government and Starfleet's command structure, allowing it to carry out operations without risk of being publicly exposed. (DS9: "Extreme Measures")

Even though Memory Alpha already has a very detailed entry on Section 31 and there are already proposals to make it into a live action Star Trek series before the COVID-19 shutdown, Section 31 is still probably one of the least discussed aspects of Gene Rodenberry’s Star Trek universe and only the most knowledgeable of Star trek fans know of its existence. And more importantly, portrayals of Section 31 that eventually gets used in an official current Star Trek TV series script or teleplay can be heavily influenced by the zeitgeist when it was written.

Section 31 in Star Trek Deep Space Nine was heavily influenced by the 1990s era of the American people’s distrust on the government when it comes on how much the military knows about intelligent extra-terrestrial life. Like back in 1995, probably all Star Trek fans reject the Pentagon’s explanation of the July 1947 Roswell crash was nothing more than a top secret balloon borne nuclear explosion detecting device. I mean it was only in 2013 that the US Government finally made it official that Area 51 exists even though every Star Trek and X-Files fan already knew that this place is real and experimenting on captured alien tech back in the 1990s.

Section 31 during Deep Space Nine could be considered most interesting from my perspective because it mirrored the shenanigans on what the then US President George Dubya Bush’s so-called neo conservatives’ reaction and policies after 9/11 even though the DS-9 era Section 31 was probably written 5 or more years before 9/11. Though, the Star Trek Discovery era Section 31 is the full-bloom of the concept because of contemporary Trumpism and the American right wing conservatives’ normalization of intellectual ineptness.