Or she's going B.S. Crazy.
I don't find this interpretation appealing. Sure, alot can happen in 4 years. But tensions over a threat that was gone for four years?
The more likely explianation is that the A-laws evolved to counter a specific threat. In this case, forces that oppose world unification. There is no doubt there are many who oppose a united Earth with a single military force. Private organizations, patroits, nationalists, anti-globalists, academics, corprorations, and other groups would probably dislike the Federation for one reason or another.
Now the Federation naturally tries to keep its meraber nations peaceful and must enforce its policy. So the Federation controls the one source that everyone neeRAB: Solar Energy. It is the lever that can move nations, and convince other nations to see their way. But thisw can add fuel to the fire of discontent.
Thus, a resistance force develops that opposes the Federation.
But hat explains the corrupt Alaws? Perhaps the corruption was already there before the ESF was founded. No doubt there were careerists and opportunists (nnatrually power hungry) within any organization. The formation of the Federation allow and a crisis allowed such men to gain power where they could before not. Perhaps fantatics that support the idea of a united world are also taking it to extremes.
I also put out the idea of corruption within the founding merabers of the Federation. The HRL seems to have human rights issues, and authortarian governement. Perhaps these elements had infected the Federation before it was born?
Then there's Ribbons, the wild card. Having usrup the Seldon...I mean Schenenburg plan, he clearly is manipulating events. But why? Could he be influencing the corruption as well?