To take a more geopolitical perspective, here's how I see things.
The FEI is currently the Holy Roman Empire. Lots of sovereign realms theoretically united by a single system.
Unfortunately, the version of the Holy Roman Empire we have is one where Arcaea is the Habsburgs at the height of their power. Yes, wars can happen within the empire but the fundamental dynamics of it are trapped in a particular pattern.
What we need is the medieval version of it where the emperorship changed hands regularly. I personally don't see how it would be any less fun for the players in Arcaea to be in a rump realm with the title of emperor, constantly having to watch out for rivals, than to be the almighty Habsburgs with no meaningful opposition.
