#AUs where they arent involved and are just living spirits chilling could be cute but... what would be the point

[goldammerchen]

(canon often involve[d] "bosses" and historical figures, nation-people don't participate in history just from the sideways[?], and aren't just chilling.)

(about what drives them:)

extra

I thought that the representations are more their cultures instead of governments? Or do you think it’s both because of the element of wanting to hold power?

They are not a representation of their government but their existence does hinge in part on having one. A nation vs a Nation, capital being the animistic Heta character and the lowercase being the cultural-political construct. My personal take, which seems to align with manga canon, is that they don't represent the government but are still intrinsically connected to it because their people are also within their government.

That said, a culture is not a neutral thing. If a culture contains slavery and other structures that suppress personal liberties, then it can't be said to be wholly "good". If a character represents only the culture, then even without representing absolutely every person in that group they still take on the positive and negative aspects. One of these for example would be the Vikings and the people who weren't raiders still purchasing slaves from them within their collective culture.

So yes its both.