Star Trek: Who Are The Maquis?

In the "Star Trek" franchise, Earth is a part of the United Federation of Planets, which itself is one of four superpowers in what's considered the Milky Way galaxy's Alpha Quadrant. Another one of those superpowers is the Cardassian Union, with whom the Federation maintains a volatile peace through some joint Federation-Cardassian treaties. One stipulation of these agreements is a Demilitarized Zone, the organization of which mandates that some Federation planets move into the dominion of the Cardassian Union and vice versa.

"Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" Season 2, Episode 20 canonizes a group called the Maquis. In short, this is an identity assumed by some of the inhabitants of the former Federation worlds that became a part of the Cardassian Union's section of the Demilitarized Zone as a result of the peace between the two superpowers.

Also counting themselves as part of this makeshift resistance are several Starfleet personnel not necessarily affected by the cause but inspired to lend their support nevertheless. Officially, the Maquis are traitors to the Federation for undermining their governmental peace accords. Some Federation powers, however, are sympathetic to the Maquis' cause and find ways to aid them through unofficial channels.

The Maquis, of course, are complex figures in "Star Trek" canon. While on one hand, their homeworlds' forced assimilation into the Cardassian Union is undeniably unfair, the steps they take to push back against their political status quo likewise threaten the lives of innocents at times. This tension between the morality of their cause and the occasional amorality of their actions has inspired its fair share of discussion among "Star Trek" fans, who have debated at length whether or not the Maquis' rebellion is justified.

A Reddit thread about this subject, for example, argues that the Maquis' actions are logical given their circumstances. "If I was placed in that position, I think I would have made the same choice," its opening post reads. Meanwhile, the thread's top comment, from u/roto_disc, characterizes the Maquis as villainous, albeit sympathetic.

In a Medium essay, meanwhile, self-professed "Star Trek" enthusiast Caris Brett described the Maquis as terrorists but argued that their actions are positive nevertheless. "One can understand the Maquis to be terrorism for a good cause," they wrote.

Social commentary is at the core of the franchise's very DNA, so parallels between these discussions and debates about real-world issues are not incidental but arguably the entire purpose of the Maquis' storylines.