DS9 did many things, including making Starfleet more believable as galactic power. Instead of the "everything is awesome, everything always works, there's plen

DS9 did many things, including making Starfleet more believable as galactic power. Instead of the "everything is awesome, everything always works, there's plenty of everything" bullshit of ST:TNG, we see a Starfleet that has plenty...for the stuff it cares about. And under the veneer, it's also got its fair share of incompetence, bureaucracy, and turf wars/pissing contests - as would be expected from a massive organization. Starfleet doesn't care about some podunk space station in a former warzone above a planet full of religious zealots...even after it sports a wormhole.