Democracy refers to the amount of decisional power that the average person has in shaping the society he lives in; a state can be properly called democratic when anyone can actively participate in the decisions that regard their own lives, and have the ability defend the collective interests from an hostile takeover by either internal or external tyrannical powers.
- Any political system that features all institutions that have been historically associated with democratic governments (separation of powers, constitution, elections, multiple parties, etc.), regardless of whether they still fulfill their intended role or not.
- Any state that guarantees an acceptable level freedom of speech and debate, regardless of whether such debate is conductive to any meaningful political consequences; in other words: a society in which people are allowed to debate but not to decide.
- Any society that is able to ensure that citizens' thoughts and behavior align as much as possible with the ruling elites' interests without the need for the latter to openly resort to violence or coercion. Whether the citizens have any actual decisional power, or even a say in matters that regard them is entirely irrelevant (when not downright dangerous); what's important is that political discourse strays as little as possible from a predetermined set of "acceptable" opinions and never interfere with the elites' interests.
- Any state that is allied to western powers (USA, EU and aligned states) and/or promote their political interests, regardless of their political system.