Nation traits : does our actions influence them?

[Tazmaniacs]

Playing as France, I noticed a small message in January 1861 (I think in mid-Jan), telling me :
"Napoleon III is Emperor of France".

Although historically incongruous, that prompted me to open up the F1 screen, and
I noticed some changes in my nation characteristics:

- I passed, for instance, to the status of a global power projecting itself on the world to just hemispheric projection,
- and I'm pretty sure that when I started the grand campaign I was lib-dem (probably it changed after the coup d'Etat), now I'm autocratic.

My question is: does our actions influence these traits?

I mean, did I became a "hemispheric
power" because after some small wars with neighbours in the beginning, I stopped after a
long war against Spain and focused on trying to get out of the"death spiral" concerning
contentment & strikes. (with no real success...), and on colonizing West Africa (successfully,
but slowly).

If our actions do influence them, how come playing education cards didn't change my status of elitism ?

[Peever]

I think those nation traits only change due to changes on government or other events. How you play your nation will not change those on their own.

[Jim-NC]

Peever is correct, your nations traits change based on whose in charge (and there can be several models for a ruler - Victoria has 3 or 4 different models to show different phases of her life for example).