ethics of extradition

Extradition comes up a lot in DS9. By my count, at least 9 episodes (5% of all episodes in the show),^[1] feature extradition in some way.

It makes sense that extradition would pose a problem in this show. In a lot of ways, DS9 is about boundaries and the ethics thereof. Colonialism is an issue of boundaries; so is the Prime Directive. The two come together to put Bajor in the position in which we find her at the start of the series: subjugated by Cardassia for six decades, with the Federation having turned a blind eye because of their preference for non-interference (and for not going to war with other major powers in the quadrant). It's hardly a surprise, then, when the very first episode after the pilot^[2] uses the ethics of extraditing a Bajoran extremist to Cardassia as a source of tension in the nascent relationship between a free Bajor and the Federation (and between Kira and Sisko).

For as often as extradition comes up, though, the show doesn't really face the ethical issues head on. In both "Dax" and "Rules of Engagement", the person whose extradition is in question^[3] is found to be innocent of the crime, rendering the issue of extradition moot. Tahna Los turns himself over to Federation authorities at the end of "Past Prologue", but it's unclear what they plan to do with him by the end of the episode. "Profit and Loss" has Natima Lang and her students fleeing after an assassination attempt; "Captive Pursuit" has the station's crew looking the other way while Miles helps Tosk get out.^[4] "Vortex" and "Chimera" both end in Odo-assisted escapes. Tekeny Ghemor dies at the end of "Ties of Blood and Water". "Who Mourns for Morn?" is a Quark-focused romp that features a fake extradition order as one of a thousand barriers between Quark and his much-desired latinum.

Despite the lack of depth in DS9's treatment of extradition, the interest is clearly there. It's part and parcel of the station's position at a confluence of cultures and the ways the writers leverage that to produce conflict.

1. Four of which are in s1, making up a whopping 20% of the show's introductory season.^{^}
2. Which is episode 1.03 here, because I number the episodes by their order in syndication and "Emissary" gets split in half for those purposes.^{^}
3. Dax and Worf respectively. I feel like there's a joke to be made here, but I'm too lazy to find it.^{^}
4. Tosk isn't accused of a crime, but we don't exactly have a separate contemporary legal framework for turning someone over to be hunted for sport.^{^}