What power in the government do nation tans actually have?

[goldenlocket1.livejournal.com]

They don't actually make laws or decisions of national importance-They have to bend to the wishes of the boss of the country,we know...Advice? wisdom from centuries of personal experience?

Basically,What are all those world conference meetings trying to accomplish?

Comments

[coeurgryffondor.livejournal.com]

I imagine that varies from country to country. They probably all work for their governments at least, get to use their wisdom and knowledge of their homes and the others' homes to maybe come up with different solutions. They're definitely portrayed differently in canon than what most people would assume, which would be more along the lines of what you're talking about.

[kahlanaisling.livejournal.com]

I think that they don't make the ultimate decisions for their government, but their opinions carry a lot of weight. When nations gather for a World Meeting, I think that their bosses use what's discussed there and how it ends as a good gauge for how the rest of the world would react should they make X decision etc. The nations keep tabs on their own countries and those of others, they tend to know what's going on and that's easier than paying attention to other humans. And then you have the personal relationships between nations: one can learn a lot from paying attention to gossip, and smart leaders utilize this. Essentially, they're a sophisticated and legal form of spying. I also think nations represent the people as well, so if a politician is liked or disliked by a nation it's much easier to tell what s/he's doing wrong/right.

[zelda-queen.livejournal.com]

It's likely that the World Conference Meetings were them interacting on behalf of their bosses. In various episodes, we see that the leaders of countries send the nations to deal with one another instead of using government officials. For example, when Hitler is trying to form an alliance with Russia's boss, Russia is sent to meet with Germany. Meanwhile, Hitler puts a lot of pressure on Germany to make a good impression, instead of planning to meet Russia himself.

[pennilee]

They most likely... advise, since I think they can feel the will of the people?

[itsukochan.livejournal.com]

Well, the nation-tans represent the collective ideas of their people.
In the government, I'd say that they work as a close-advisor to the leader. It's a lot easier to understand what your citizens want when you only have one person to talk to, you know? And the reason some leaders were overthrown is because they didn't listen to their nation-tan.
As for the world conferences, I'm not sure. I usually think of them as UN ambassadors, I suppose. This would be assuming there are no elected UN ambassadors in the Hetalia world.

[mdc-1957.livejournal.com]

I guess it depends on the country and government in question. But generally the Nations are shown as being officially in a high enough position for their leaders to take notice, usually as dignitaries or advisors.

And since the Nations represent their people rather than merely the ruling authorities (who also happen to be their own people normally), it comes across as working with their rulers rather than simply for them. Also, if Russia's example was anything in canon, they could also have the power to depose their own leaders if their citizens habe had it (either that or if they just want to).