Books with Fantasy Political Systems / Realistic Political Fiction

Hi all!

I'm looking for books that either have a political main plot or a heavy political subplot. By this, I mean books that explicitly deal with a political system and have characters that engage in governance or political administration. I'm having difficulty finding recs because when I look for "political" novels on TikTok, I keep finding lists of novels that are social commentaries which may or may not have a literal political setting. I love social commentaries, but I'm looking for novels that are literally political!

Full disclosure, I'm a hobbyist writer who has studied and worked in politics and is really hoping for good references for my own work. Sometimes, I struggle with novels that have a political subplot because it feels too unrealistic or simple to me, so complexity is greatly appreciated! Any novels from writers that have worked in politics would also be interesting to me. I often find myself disappointed with political subplots that dissipate or become inconsequential as soon as the main character reaches their other goals.

That said, I'm not a stickler for perfect realism and am willing to suspend disbelief! I enjoyed Red, White, & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston despite being somewhat unrealistic because the setting and conflict felt just authentic enough for me. I also somewhat enjoyed A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske, and did like the way she portrayed the politics of the world, even if the novel wasn't ultimately my thing.

I'm not picky about setting! Modern settings, historical settings, or any sort of fantasy/sci-fi setting are all interesting. I'm also happy to check out any cultural/regional setting! I have a particular soft spot for urban fantasy, but feel like that's a somewhat small genre at times.

Apologies for the long request–I am a yapper! But thanks in advance <3