You've created a framework that fails to consider anything outside of international relations to define democracy, which I don't follow, as democracy is an internal exercise. Yes, we're subject to larger spheres of influence as everyone else, but we participate for our convenience and in the spirit of cooperation. We are not subdued, but far from it. We've cancelled multi-million-dollar foreign contracts with world powers that were being pushed onto us, and have a hegemony in our corner of the world. You're not even considering the myriad of things happening within our borders that very much represent democracy at a level I have never seen in my life, as we drag ourselves out of the hole of corruption.

And I will comment on your overall attitude of pushing everyone off the table just because they're not the largest players on the world stage. This is the reason why I don't disclose where I'm from immediately. Because not only does Lemmy's thought process revolve around their own bestest country, but you also rely on stereotypes or misconceptions about others, and use that to marginalize everyone who doesn't operate at that arbitrary standard. People often state their views as if they know our country better than ourselves, and I have to be honest, that kind of drives me up the wall a bit.