The Prime Directive is a set of guidelines that state when first contact should be made with an alien civilization, as well as rules and regulations about contact that should be observed before official contact has been made. The point the at which Federation believes a culture is ready for an official meet and greet, is when said civilization discovers warp capabilities. This is a marker for how advanced they are. It signifies that they are now capable of being exposed to advanced technology yet unknown to them, without it seriously altering the natural development of their society or culture. It’s also because if a society has warp capabilities, it won’t take long for them to bump into another alien race. In that case, it’s often best to get the heads-up from more experienced space travelers — just to avoid any unwanted surprises like bumping into a Klingon bird of prey.
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So what about the Borg? Their version of first contact with another civilization shares a lot of the same benchmarks at the Federation — but with grimmer results. The Borg’s version of first contact is assimilation, engulfing a culture into their collection to become one with the given mind. Before the aptly named First Contact movie, the Borg had always teetered on the edge of villainy. They were an apparent evil force hell-bent on forcefully kidnapping and assimilating people, but through an almost computer-like drive to achieve perfection. This drive wasn’t really evil as it lacked ill intent; instead, it was more like a rogue computer algorithm that only wanted to amass information, unaware of the destruction it brought. This was of course ruined by the introduction of the nefarious Borg queen, but that’s a story for another time.
The Borg Prime Directive, then, is a set of guidelines the Borg follow to establish at what point they deem a species of being worth adding to their collective. Their benchmarks shift however, unlike the Federation, depending on what they need at the time, but the similarities still remain. The Borg do not bother with cultures that are not advanced enough, and don’t bother to make contact with a civilization until they exhibit something they believe is unique. This unique aspect could be biological, or a piece of technology. This may mean the Borg sit and wait for certain cultures to advance and evolve enough on their own before they swoop in and assimilate them, using whole civilization as Petri dishes, cultivating uniqueness. As the Borg do not evolve naturally, they have to rely on others to do it for them, each assimilation pushing them closer and closer to a perceived perfection.
The Kazon are a great example of this. They are relatively left alone by the Borg unless provoked, as they are seen as unworthy for assimilation. They are a primitive, warlike culture that steals most of their technology from the Trabe. They do not know how to build the weapons, ships, and various tech they possess. They simply use them, maintaining them as well as they can with their limited understanding. They are also fairly mundane biologically, similar to the thousands upon millions of other humanoid life forms the Borg have already assimilated. The only examples of Borg Kazon are the few who are assimilated to bulk out numbers, individuals rather than entire cultures used to add to the needed drone mass.
While this is the in-universe explanation as to why the Kazon have been relatively left alone, it doesn’t sit well with fans. The Kazon were a big part of Voyager in the first few seasons, and the Borg made their appearance later on. The Borg prior to this were an almighty force that were nearly impossible to defeat, and posed a real threat to the Federation during The Next Generation. It was understandably disappointing then when Voyager seriously nerfed them, and made them a lot less threatening.
By adding the Borg Prime Directive, albeit not explicitly, the writers made the Borg less of an all-consuming wave of unavoidable assimilation, and more a race of rather picky eaters. Up until this point as well, it seemed that the Borg had assimilated far less advanced civilizations. It’s important to remember that while the Kazon may have stolen all their technology, they still successfully controlled a massive amount of space.
While some see the Borg’s twisted version of the Prime Directive to be yet another reminder of how disappointing they have become since Voyager first nerfed them, others see it as adding a much-needed wealth of understanding to the implant-ridden, lumbering zombies. They were less an unknowable wave of destruction, and more understandable and logical antagonists.
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