[action]
More or less. We have a system of states, each of which elects local officials to the Senate, who are usually not nobility, although it's been done in some isolated incidents.
[he tilts his head to the side] But usually it's something approaching subtle. In Britannia, it was blatantly the law of the land. The late Emperor [flicks fingers, dismissively] presided over the state funeral of his son by lecturing the viewers who were forced to watch about how evolution favors the strong, and the prince's assassination meant that he was weak. "All hail Britannia."