I'm wondering how negative the "traitor" badge really is for players and AI relations. It seems to include more advantages as a flavor. I think I posted elsewhere about how having the traitor badge could be retooled to be specific to each war by increasing the war support for objectives you have unmet demands for and lowering the support for other war goals. With perhaps one general exception of occupying another Empire's capital always generating support because it might help end the war (although now the capital just blinks around instantly because we all know the infrastructure and organization structures of governments are totally easy to replace at the drop of a hat).

But while I still think that might be a lot more poignant / dynamic than all traitorous wars being awash in the ransacking ... (ransacking would be more supported for each demand for money you've made though) I just wanted to know if players have noticed the AI actually treating someone with a traitor badge all that differently. In my last game I just noticed I have a gold traitor badge but I'm still in alliances and other empires seem perfectly willing to jump into bed with my alliance if I ask them because of my Empire's increasingly military dominance. 

Maybe the badge name should be changed to "Conqueror" or "Tyrannical" instead of Traitor even though how you get it is an act of traitorous. 

But I also noticed these badges don't seem to have any impact on Independent People relations. 

If having the Traitor/Conqueror/Tyrannical badge actually effectively made the AI Empire's treat you warily... and the wariness scaled up in reaction to the more/higher rank of the badge you had.

Then another layer of depth could potentially be added to the game by giving this badge to Empires who militarily conquer a peaceful IP. 

Yes that badge and the thief badge as well makes a big difference in my games. New AIs I meet as well as existing ones have a negative opinion of you and won’t agree to any trade deals and have a bad attitude. I avoid these because hoarding luxuries  through trade is such a key part of this game and this badge makes it super difficult 

Cool - good to know. I've mostly done a late game total war transition in part because I ended up being way more dominant than I expected but mostly as a technicality - military conquest is the win condition for this game.