Let’s say I decide I’ve had enough with this whole Federation business and that humanity would be better represented by a Starfleet that follows my particular ideology. Assuming I could get enough people for crew and support, why can’t I start my own Starfleet?
I could replicate ship parts until I have a couple vessels. Go to new worlds and present myself as the official first contact of humanity. I could fly to Vulcan or Bajor and tell them no actually my organization represents humanity.
What’s going to stop me?
Assuming you had access to the energy and raw materials, I believe you’d also be limited by the size and type of replicators you have access too. Not everything can be replicated, and I believe lower tier replicators have limits on what they can make.
I wonder if you’d be able to replicate a higher tier replicator with a low tier replicator?
Iirc replicators require exotic matter arrays, so no, they need to be constructed, at least anything more complex than a household replicator.