Synopsis: Kai Winn is elevated to the position of First Minister of Bajor’s Provisional Government and asks for Major Kira’s assistance.
In depth psychological terms, this episode can be seen as an illustration of the relationship between inflation and deflation. Inflation, as defined by Carl (C. G.) Jung is the identification with the power of an archetypal god and is a necessary phase in the process of individuation, the way by which an individual’s psyche becomes more whole. The opposite of inflation, deflation, is the complementary phase, and the individuation process naturally moves continually between the two.
In “Shakaar” after the sudden death of the First Minister of the Bajoran Provisional Government, Kai Winn Adami is appointed to fill out his current term. Having achieved this level of power, she summons Major Kira Nerys, and asks Kira to convince her former allies in the resistance to give Winn back some equipment that they are using to reclaim the soil on their land. When Winn declines to negotiate with their leader, Shakaar, and instead sends in troops to accomplish her goals, Kira and her allies defeat them, exposing Winn’s strongarm tactics. This causes Winn to lose all hope of winning an election to retain the First Minister position.
In this episode we see Winn’s ascension to a higher position and then the resulting descent when she overreaches in the use of her authority in order to cement her newfound power. As the spiritual leader of Bajor Winn could be seen as having a certain susceptibility to inflation from just fulfilling the role of interpreter for the Prophets. Being placed in a governmental position of influence as well, it is only natural for her to feel a temporary state of inflation. Her resulting deflation and loss of political power comes when she identifies with it too closely, forgetting that it is the office and not the individual who occupies it, that holds its clout. This can be seen as an analogy to when the conscious ego continues to identify with an archetypal power for longer than is required, leading it to believe that it has more power than it really does over the unconscious. The result of this is deflation.
mydailysoultrek 