Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is the perfect show to explore how the Cardassians became the totalitarian society seen in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The exact date of First Contact between the United Federation of Planets and the Cardassian Union has never been established in Star Trek canon, but there's substantial evidence to suggest it happened prior to SNW. Because of this, Strange New Worlds could explore the societal shift from the Cardassian First Republic to the totalitarian military regime that would expand across the galaxy in the 24th century.
Strange New Worlds has taken creative approaches to canon, most notably with the inclusion of the Gorn prior to the official First Contact with the species in Star Trek: The Original Series. It's already been established in several Star Trek shows that the Federation had made contact with the Cardassians at some point in the early 23rd century. This means that, unlike with the Gorn, there's considerable latitude for Strange New Worlds to explore the events leading up to the Cardassian occupation of Bajor and the Federation-Cardassian war.
