The United Star Systems of Alpha Centauri

In my Space Opera RPG the realm of Alpha Centauri is one of the more prosperous nations, especially in the aftermath of the Great Galactic War. Alpha Centauri has currently the largest populace of all regions, with hundreds of billions of citizens spread across more than a thousand planets. Unlike most other realms, such as the Bordugravian and Vallusian empires, Alpha Centauri has no apparent class system and its leadership is elected by the citizens, even if only indirectly and through several steps. Each planet elects its own planetary representative, who sits on the ruling council of the local star system, which administrates over local issues and reports to the larger senate of the Union, which elects a president for a limited period. In theory the democratic system allows every citizen the opportunity to affect the decision-making within the entire Union, or even become president themselves. But in reality the Union is so big and densely populated that the democratic process and all bureaucracy is very inefficient and heavily subject to populism. The apparent lack of an aristocracy and other social classes is also not entirely true, because the wealthiest individuals and families are in practice like the nobility and royalty of Alpha Centauri. However, the the structure of society in the Union is much more flexible than in most other nations, which offers incentive for citizens to attempt to climb the social ladder and pitch in to the great machinery that is Alpha Centauri. This is why such a large realm is kept in relative stability and why Alpha Centauri was able to survive the Galactic War better than many other nations, because the loyalty felt by soldiers of the Union was often a good motivator to give their best.