There's an SF writer I really like for his books in the vein of this. His name is L. E. Modesitt, and some of his books that discuss this are the "Parafaith War" and probably the best "Adiamante."

In Douglas Adams's books the president of the universe is completely powerless because anyone who wants to be president should absolutely not be given any real authority.

The real ruler is a man living in a shack in the middle of nowhere who only cares about his cat and an occasional glass of whiskey.

That's where some of us are destined to end up, I'm afraid. :)

It's a pretty old idea. The Bene Gesserit surely got it from Other Memory. They just figured out how to make it practical.