When Star Trek: The Next Generation premiered in the late '80s, it ushered in an era of prosperity. The '90s seemed to be the birth of the "Star Trek future" promised in the '60s with the original series, with tremendous technological and socio-economic growth. The Berlin Wall fell, and it seemed like old enemies might become new allies, just like the Klingons with the Federation.
Star Trek: Picard has ushered in a new perspective on a United Federation of Planets that once seemed to thrive on tolerance, optimism, and transparency. The new Federation is xenophobic, militant, and self-isolating in a way that feels occasionally alien to Star Trek lore, but perhaps an inevitable part of its progression. Star Trek: Picard isn't TNG and perhaps it shouldn't be, as each version of Gene Roddenberry's vision is held up against contemporary zeitgeist.
MUCH LESS UTOPIAN
The doomsday mood to Star Trek: Picard largely comes from the knowledge that the Federation is no longer the Utopian society that existed during the events of TNG, when Gene Roddenberry's vision for the franchise was at its purest. The sense of idealism, which included a natural ease with alien species, has been eroded as viewers come to find Romulan assassins operate in Federation space without repercussions.
Federation citizens can be attacked in broad daylight, and on distant planets reintegrating Romulan refugees, the Federation halts all aid and resources. A sense of harmony and cooperation has been replaced by an ambiance of distrust and suspicion, as Jean-Luc Picard (once again masterfully portrayed by Sir Patrick Stewart) discovers on numerous occasions.
CAPABLE OF MORE DECEPTION
Corruption has happened in TNG at the highest levels of Starfleet before, sometimes due to sinister machinations by alien invaders, and sometimes because of dictatorial Admirals. But to have several Romulan secret service agents implanted and operating right under the nose of Starfleet command plants a seed of doubt in the Federation's trustworthiness.
When the Federation no longer wanted to supply aid to Romulan refugees through Starfleet, a convenient synthetic attack occurred on Mars, leaving some to believe the Federation was behind it in the hopes of pulling focus from the Romulan crisis to something more pressing.
XENOPHOBIC
After the destruction of Romulus by a super-nova, hundreds of thousands of Romulans needed to be rehomed. Starfleet pledged itself to help, but as it did so, certain planets threatened to leave the Federation. The Federation was forced to make a choice - help its oldest enemy, or maintain peaceful relations with its existing members.
Ultimately, the synthetic attack on Mars demanded more of Starfleet's armada, and the Romulan refugee crisis became an afterthought. Jean-Luc Picard accused Starfleet of xenophobia on both counts when it showed discrimination for both androids and Romulans. His interactions with Romulan refugees after the fact reveal great mistrust and hostility towards humans.
CURRENCY MAY BE IN CIRCULATION
TNG made a big fuss about the fact that the Federation no longer had currency in circulation, and that Starfleet when pressed used "Federation Credits" to deal with certain interactions with non-Federation entities, such as Klingons in the past. Yet in Star Trek: Picard it appears some sort of currency is in play.
Raffi seems genuinely jealous of Picard's luxurious Chateau (despite the fact that he inherited it), implying that there is a great disparity between different pockets of inhabitants in the Federation, and when she suggests a captain to take him to Freecloud, the captain expects to be "compensated handsomely." Freecloud denizens also utilize some sort of currency on a planet known for unscrupulous activity.
PANDERED TO POLITICS
When the Federation realized that 14 planets in its organization were going to withdraw from the cohort if Starfleet continued to give Romulan refugees aid, it withdrew its fleet. While the Mars attack by the synthetics can be construed as a reason, there's no denying that the Federation pandered to politics.
The Federation had to decide what was ultimately more important; rescuing its oldest enemy, or risk losing an abundance of planets with key socio-economic resources. It took the risk that only a few of its more altruistic personnel like Jean-Luc Picard would resign over the decision.
NO LONGER VALUES ITS HEROES
What's become clear over the course of the series is that the Federation no longer recognizes nor values its heroes. Jean-Luc Picard, captain of Starfleet's flagship, and the Admiral in charge of the Romulan refugee rescue mission, is continuously shown little respect by anyone connected to Starfleet or the Federation.
His concept of altruism is considered naive and idealistic, something not envisioned as practical or functional in the current society. For Starfleet to turn its back on an incredible commander is to turn its back on what he stands for, which turns out to be what it should have been all along.
NO LONGER RECOGNIZES SYNTHETICS
In the TNG episode "Measure of a Man," Data and Picard challenge the rights of androids as individuals capable of their own agency. When Starfleet A.I. scientist Bruce Maddox wants to dissect Data for research, he refuses, citing that he should be capable of making the decision for himself as a crewman, not as a piece of Starfleet property.
Data won his case with the help of Picard's defense, and it appeared that the ruling was being out into Federation code. By the time of the synthetic attack on Mars, all the androids were strangely incapable of as much free will, and made basically automatons in the service of humans, almost as though they changed nothing about the code.
MISTRUSTFUL OF SCIENTISTS
Dr. Bruce Maddox, once considered one of the premier authorities on A.I. and a pupil of Dr. Soong's work with synthetics, was forced to flee the Daystrom Institute where he operated under Federation and Starfleet purview. The Federation has at times clashed with civilian scientists, but usually holds scientists who are a part of Starfleet in high regard.
True, he was being hunted by the Romulan secret police, but viewers have been made aware that at least someone affiliated with the Federation wanted him dead because of the research he was doing. Agnes Jurati, after a visit from Starfleet Commodore Oh, agreed to travel with Picard to find Maddox, and whatever Oh had revealed to her meant the termination of her attachment to Maddox (to the shock of viewers).
REGIONS ARE LAWLESS
More in line with Star Trek: Voyager or Star Trek: Deep Space Nine than Star Trek: The Next Generation, there are large swathes of Federation space that are lawless in Star Trek: Picard. The Neutral Zone collapsed, and when it did, groups like the Fenris Rangers were forced to take over and provide vigilante justice.
There are many more planets like Turkana IV, where groups like the Coalition exist as freedom fighters, or areas of space affected by the Cardassian Union, where the Maquis were considered para-military terrorist groups. Even Jean-Luc Picard has to concede with Fenris Ranger Seven-of-Nine that there is no "law" as far as the Federation is concerned.
STARFLEET HIGH COMMAND
Starfleet high command, from Star Trek: The Original Series to Star Trek: The Next Generation has always been depicted as ignorant, selfish, and desirous of an easy win. The leadership on the frontier, which included Captain Picard, was generally regarded to be more tactful, informed, and capable of making measured decisions.
The high command depicted in Star Trek: Picard conveys an even more duplicitous, selfish, and obtuse group of individuals who are even more strongly against the advice of their frontier (or in Picard's case, former frontier) agents. Admirals are even depicted as double agents, with wide-reaching tendrils of subterfuge that threaten the very stability of the Federation.