A new Federation president was elected based on a platform of returning the Fed to pre-war conditions. He feels the militarization of Starfleet has held the reigns for too long.
There are internal conflicts at Starfleet that consider reverting to a non-war footing to be an invitation for catastrophe. Their position sways a lot of the population who have fresh memories of the invasions of The Borg, The Dominion, and others.
There is also a pacifist body, mainly led by Vulcans and Andorians who advocate the current president’s position.
Technology Breakthrough: Federation science has finally established transwarp conduits (based on Voyager’s data collected on Borg technology) to create a preliminary network of prototype conduits.
The main conduits link:
Starbase 310 at Alpha Trianguli (near the former border of the Cardassian DMZ, “southeast” of Bajor, Deep Space 9) and Axanar (about halfway between Earth and Vulcan), near to which a new Starbase was constructed, Starbase 472 (affectionally referred to as “The On Ramp”).
