Why does Cardassia feel entitled to Bajor?

[IntrepidMan]

I don't know if it's ever explicitly stated as such, but you definitely get the sense that the Cardassians feel like they own Bajor. Especially when Dukat retakes DS9 with the Dominion's help, he is eager to continue on to Bajor. It goes beyond simply plundering the planet for resources; Cardassia thinks that Bajor should rightfully be part of the Cardassian Union, whether the Bajorans like it or not.

I'm no expert on foreign affairs, but it seems to me that this sort of thing normally happens when a country feels that another country or region has "historical significance" and should always be a part of it no matter what (like Serbia claiming Kosovo), or when a country has a civil war and the two sides become different countries, each claiming the other as rightfully theirs (like China/Taiwan and North/South Korea).

As far as I know Bajor doesn't have much historical significance for Cardassia and certainly isn't run by renegade Cardassians. So why is Cardassia so obsessed with it?

 

[MacLeod]

Well from Dukat's point of view perhaps he doesn't like the fact that it would appear that the Bajoran's where able to apply enough pressure on the occupation forces for central command to decide to withdraw.

Perhaps Dukat couldn't stand the thought that a bunch of ill armed people manage to force the power Union to withdraw.

 

[Timo]

Also of interest might be that Bajor is essentially next-door neighbors to the Cardassian home system. The Union has more far-flung possessions (at the very least the ones visited or listed in "Return to Grace"); it would be humiliating not to be in control of Bajor under the circumstances. A bit like the British Empire feeling the need to possess all of Ireland, even if the historical connection to that neighboring island is somewhat tenuous (i.e. it's just a traditional target of conquest, much like Bajor, but the biological or ethnic relationship between British and Irish people is probably also just as distant as between Cardassians and Bajorans).

Timo Saloniemi

 

[IntrepidMan]

^True, and IIRC the Cardassia/Bajor story is based on the break-up of the Soviet Union, so just like Russia considers Eastern Europe to be within its sphere of influence, Cardassia considers Bajor to be within its sphere of influence. Still, they are making such a fuss over one little planet. And after 40 years of plunder and occupation, how much value could Bajor still have? Maybe it is just a Dukat thing, trying to repair his wounded ego at having "lost" Bajor.

 

[DS9Continuing]

Well, remember that the Occupation had been going on for quite a while before Dukat took charge. When Cardassia first decided to invade Bajor I imagine it would have been purely because they needed the resources. It was the Cardassian mindset that they needed stuff, Bajor had stuff, so let's go and take the stuff from Bajor. The fact that there were people already living there was neither here nor there.

By the time Dukat took charge, the Occupation had been going on for decades. So he probably came into it with a different perspective - that they already owned Bajor, it was a done deal, the way it should be and always had been. So it would have been an indignity to him for it to be taken away. Even if the resources were no longer such a big deal, it was the principle of the thing. This is ours, you don't get to kick us out.

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[MacLeod]

The difference is that the people of the Falkland Islands or even N. Ireland could hold a referrendum on whether to remain British or not.

 

[Nerys Myk]

The difference is that the people of the Falkland Islands or even N. Ireland could hold a referrendum on whether to remain British or not.

really ??

my grandparents and their parents and their parents etc etc were not offered a referendum or was any irish people for the first 700 and odd years of british rule.

but lets not let facts get in the way eh ?

Obviously, MacLeod is talking about the present, not your grandparents time. "Could" is the key word in his statement.

 

[SilentP]

When it comes to the Cardassians (or maybe just Dukat, we see plenty of Cardassians who aren't so expansionist), I have a feeling their sense of entitlement is driven from a state driven egomania/sense of divine right that the galaxy is meant to be theirs eventually. With Bajor, this sense of entitlement is heightened because they feel they have been wronged that something which is meant to be theirs has escaped their grasp.

 

[47]

Maybe also the fact that now there is a wormhole in Bajoran space? In the beginning they don't know the Dominion is at the other end, and the trouble they may get into...

 

[C.E. Evans]

I also think that any kind of entitlement the Cardassians might have towards Bajor stems from them having once owned it. The Detapa Council's decision to withdraw all Cardassian forces from Bajor wasn't a popular one among members of the Cardassian military, IIRC...

 

[Sci]

I'm no expert on foreign affairs, but it seems to me that this sort of thing normally happens when a country feels that another country or region has "historical significance" and should always be a part of it no matter what (like Serbia claiming Kosovo), or when a country has a civil war and the two sides become different countries, each claiming the other as rightfully theirs (like China/Taiwan and North/South Korea).

Not always. Why did Britain feel entitled to rule India? Why did the United States feel entitled to conquer Indian territories in Central North America? Why did Belgium feel entitled to the Congo?

Imperialism needn't be motivated by center/periphery incorporation, nor by internal divisions. It can be motivated purely by a lust for power.

 

[IntrepidMan]

^You'll get no argument from me there. But it seemed to me that Cardassia's interest in Bajor went beyond lust for power or interest in resources--it became an obsession. Just like China is obsessed with Taiwan. That kind of obsession seems to happen when one power sees another power as fundamentally a part of it and can never exist apart.

The British were certainly invested in India, but eventually they got over it. Circumstances forced them out and that was that.

The United States felt entitled to conquer Indian territories because of their proximately and because the Indians weren't seen as owners of the land. The Cardassians certainly act in a similar way towards Bajor--they feel entitled to Bajor because of its close proximity and perhaps they see Bajorans as "natives" who aren't really the owners of the land and either can't or won't properly exploit the land. But this still doesn't really explain the obsession Cardassia seems to have with Bajor. You would think that after withdrawing once they would choose other fish to fry and leave Bajor alone.

As other posters have suggested, maybe Cardassia as a whole is lukewarm to the idea of reconquering Bajor and it's really mostly Dukat and the military. This would be similar to the situation with Belgium and the Congo. The Belgians (at first) wanted nothing to do with building a colony in Africa. It was largely through the pure greed and lust of one man (King Leopold) that the Belgiun Congo came into existance, and for a long time it was his personal kingdom. Just like Dukat might see Bajor as his own little fiefdom. And once he lost it all he could think about was getting it back.

 

[IntrepidMan]

Maybe also the fact that now there is a wormhole in Bajoran space? In the beginning they don't know the Dominion is at the other end, and the trouble they may get into...

Yeah I think that's probably part of it. The wormwhole does make Bajor more attractive. But somehow I think even without the wormhole the Cardassians would want Bajor back.

 

[indolover]

The Cardassians viewed the Bajorans as inferior, and wanted to dominate them, their planet, and their resources.

Considering the Cardassians built their empire on expansion and obtaining resources, that rationale makes sense in a way.

 

[TheGodBen]

The difference is that the people of the Falkland Islands or even N. Ireland could hold a referrendum on whether to remain British or not.

really ??

Not only can they, the people of Northern Ireland voted to remain in the UK twice. There was a referendum in 1973 that, although boycotted by nationalists, still saw a majority of the electorate favour maintaining the union. And there was the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 which was not only supported by 70% of the people of NI, 95% of people in the republic voted in favour of removing the territorial claim to NI from our constitution.

my grandparents and their parents and their parents etc etc were not offered a referendum or was any irish people for the first 700 and odd years of british rule.

but lets not let facts get in the way eh ?

The past is the past, remember it but let it rest. The modern UK is unlike the historical UK, judging them based on their actions centuries ago will get us nowhere.

Imperialism needn't be motivated by center/periphery incorporation, nor by internal divisions. It can be motivated purely by a lust for power.

Lust for power was part of it, but there was also the fact that the Europeans saw themselves as a superior race to all the others. They had more advanced technology, they were "more civilised", they had heard the word God, so they viewed the peoples of Africa, Asia, and the Americas as inferior races. And just like adults look at children as needing their control and guidance, the people of Europe viewed it at their right, perhaps even their duty, to rule over the "less civilised" races.

I view the Cardassian/Bajoran issue in the same light, some Cardassians saw the Bajorans as an inferior race because they were less advanced technologically, they didn't adhere to the "superior" Cardassian social order, and they believed in "primitive" superstitions.

 

[sonak]

no worse than the UK trying to lay claim to the falklands or their occupation of northern ireland.

faulty analogy. Both the citizens of Northern Ireland and Falklands want to remain part of the UK by a substantial margin. I don't think the Bajorans felt the same about the CU.

 

[Xhiandra]

Sunk cost is part of it: they went through a lot of trouble to conquer and dominate Bajor for a long time, they don't want it all to be in vain.

Part of it has to be pride, too. Cardassians aren't the type to swallow a defeat easily, especially in the hands of those they considered inferior.

Part of it is lust for power: he who controls Bajor/Terrok Nor controls the Wormhole.

Part of it might unifying their borders. Of the 4 motivations listed, this is the only one that would justify the initial conquest as well as the desire to reconquer.

Not always. Why did Britain feel entitled to rule India? Why did the United States feel entitled to conquer Indian territories in Central North America? Why did Belgium feel entitled to the Congo?

Not the best example, there. Belgium didn't feel entitled to the Congo, King Leopold II bought the Congo as a private property; the state only confiscated it when light was made of the rather peculiar way his men treated the natives.

As to the "why", the answer was simple: profit. That's all King Leopold II sought: more monies at any cost; for the rest of African colonies, it was either glory, money or a mix of both.

 

[Sci]

Not always. Why did Britain feel entitled to rule India? Why did the United States feel entitled to conquer Indian territories in Central North America? Why did Belgium feel entitled to the Congo?

Not the best example, there. Belgium didn't feel entitled to the Congo, King Leopold II bought the Congo as a private property; the state only confiscated it when light was made of the rather peculiar way his men treated the natives.

You need to read more about the Belgian treatment of the Congolese independence movement in the 20th Century.

 

[TerraNovan]

Wasn't bajor an undeveloped back water, I'm sure this is a larger part of the issue than anything else. Bajor didn't just reject cardassia, it kicked them out took their tech, and worst of went to the federation. And lets not forget the amount of terrorism from the resistance killing millions.

 

[Edit_XYZ]

Because cardassia was largely modeled after imperialistic regimes and ideologies - fascism, etc.

Just like China is obsessed with Taiwan.

More like China is paying lip service of being obsessed with Taiwan.

If a power with China's nuclear - and various other - capabilities would actually be obsessed with Taiwan, there would be at present no Taiwan.

Lust for power was part of it, but there was also the fact that the Europeans saw themselves as a superior race to all the others. They had more advanced technology, they were "more civilised", they had heard the word God, so they viewed the peoples of Africa, Asia, and the Americas as inferior races. And just like adults look at children as needing their control and guidance, the people of Europe viewed it at their right, perhaps even their duty, to rule over the "less civilised" races.

And then the colonial powers saw the error of their ways and left.
And the former subjugated nations - political instability, civil wars, the occasional internecine slaughter or genocide, etc.
They got liberty - and, as it turned out, they thought they would handle it a LOT better than they did.

Talk about unexpected.
I guess history feels no need to be politically correct.