i believe the only mods i am using are:

custom planets
narakir political parties
ability mod
and 1 starbase module mod

none of these say that they deactivate minor races, but i have taken over half a gigantic galaxy and haven't seen any minor races. they are not disabled either. is there a way to force them on??? they may not seem like a big deal, but i always use them in my strategy
to rake in massive amounts of money, have a secure trading partner, and send lots of soldiers after my enemies while not risking my own people. any help would be appriciated.