Technology sharing with new members in the United Federations of Planets?

Question

According to the Memory Alpha Article on the United Federation of Planets:

The United Federation of Planets (abbreviated as UFP and commonly referred to as the Federation) was an interstellar union of planetary governments that agreed to exist semi-autonomously under a single central government based on the principles of universal liberty, rights, and equality, and to share their knowledge and resources in peaceful cooperation, scientific development, space exploration, and mutual defense.

New applicants need to be

Even before the investigation, the prospective member had to meet certain requirements. These were as follows:

• It had to have an "advanced level of technology." The Federation's baseline definition of this term was the capability for faster-than-light space travel. (TNG: "First Contact"; Star Trek: Insurrection)

• Its government should have achieved stable planetary political unity, demonstrating a resolution of social and political differences and a respect of the rights of the individual. Membership was still considered if there was an isolated faction present that did not want membership, but this was a rare case. (TNG: "The Hunted", "Attached")

• No form of caste discrimination was to be practiced. (DS9: "Accession")

So, a new member needs to have an advanced level of technology but by far not the level of the UFP. So, what happens when a new member joins? Humanity reached FTL in 2063 but transporters were only discovered in 2124 and the replicators soon after.

So, does a new member in the UFP simply "get" all the technology? TNG starts around 300 years after the first warp flight. Would the two new members Picard investigated (Angosia III, Kesprytt III) simply have gotten the technology of the UFP, also the technology they are decades or even centuries away of discovering or how is this handled?

Answer 1

Contrary to what the Memory Alpha article seems to imply, and in accordance with the UFP's ethics and regulations, new members of the Federation do not simply get a big 'package of technology' as a welcome gift when they are accepted as full-fledged member of the organization.

Nor would the Federation accept as member a planet who just broke the light speed barrier, then dump all of those technologies upon them and wreak havoc on their society. When you look closely at the few prospective members we've heard about, they all had a technological level that was quite close to the technology available in the Federation.

In Star Trek: Insurrection, we see that the Federation makes a planet who just achieved warp flight into a protectorate, not a member:

TROI: Remember, they have a significantly less advanced technology than ours. They only achieved warp drive last year.

CRUSHER: And the Federation Council decided to make them a protectorate so quickly?

PICARD: In view of our losses to the Borg and the Dominion, the Council feels we need all the allies we can get these days.

Beverly Crusher's reaction seem to indicate that making a less technologically advanced planet a protectorate is common practice, since she is surprised by the speed at which it was done in this instance, not the fact that it happened.

One can infer that a planet under protectorate status is given limited technological advances over a long period of time, in order to speed up their progress to Federation level but without upsetting the natural development of their society, with the aim of making them a full-fledged member in the future.

In another example, Angosia and Kesprytt were obviously aware of the teleporter, even though they didn't seem to possess that technology, and Bajor saw it in use during the Cardassian Occupation.

The Angosian super soldier seen in the episode knows that the Enterprise has teleporters and tries to plan his escape with that fact in mind, even though he ultimately fails. The Kes knew enough about it to be able to divert the teleporter beam sending Captain Picard and Dr Crusher to the Prytt's minister and make them prisoner; given the situation on the planet, it is highly likely that the Prytt had similar knowledge.

Plus, technically, some of the technology is not really shared, like the military technology, and signing the official documents that makes a planet into a member of the United Federation of Planets is just the beginning.

As Admiral Whatley explained to Captain Sisko in Rapture (DS9 S05E10) (Emphasis mine):

WHATLEY: Not sorry enough to return my comm. signals. All three of them. That could get an officer in a lot of trouble. Look, Ben, I need to know that I can count on you. Now, Bajor's admission is only the beginning. Now comes the hard part. Federation council members have to be chosen, the Bajoran militia has to be absorbed into Starfleet. There are thousands of details that have to be overseen and you're our point man here. That means we need to depend on you more than ever.

Thus, the Bajoran government technically has access to the latest in offensive and defensive technologies developed by the UFP, but, in practical terms, those technologies are only given to Starfleet who responds only to the Federation Council, not to planetary governments.

Answer 2

All versions of the Federation Charter seen in-canon and in various semi-canon texts strongly imply that technology sharing takes place as soon as a planet becomes a member of the Federation.

As seen in VOY: The Void

CHARTER OF THE UNITED FEDERATION OF PLANETS

"We the lifeforms of the United Federation of Planets determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, and to reaffirm faith in the fundamental rights of sentient beings, in the dignity and worth of all lifeforms, in the equal rights of members of planetary systems large and small, and to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of interstellar law can be maintained, and to promote social progress and better standards of living on all worlds, and for these ends, to practice toleration and live together in peace with one another, and to unite our strength to maintain interstellar peace and security, and to ensure, by the acceptance of principles and the institutions of methods, that weapons of destruction shall not be used, save in the common interest, and to employ interstellar resources for the promotion..."

From the Starfleet Technical Manual

WITH A VIEW TO CREATING CONDITIONS OF STABILITY AND WELL-BEING WHICH ARE NECESSARY FOR PEACEFUL RELATIONS AMONG PLANETARY SOCIAL SYSTEMS BASED ON RESPECT FOR THE PRINCIPLES OF EQUAL RIGHTS AND SELF-DETERMINATION OF ALL INTELLIGENT LIFE-FORMS, THE UNITED FEDERATION OF PLANETS SHALL PROMOTE:

A) HIGHER STANDARDS OF LIVING, FULL EMPLOYMENT, AND CONDITIONS OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL PROGRESS AND DEVELOPMENT;

B) SOLUTION OF INTERPLANETARY ECONOMIC, SOCIAL, HEALTH, AND RELATED PROBLEMS; AND INTERPLANETARY CULTURAL AND EDUCATIONAL COOPERATION; AND