|
Let me qualify one statement above: all are democracies in the sense of having elected governments, but in Bhutan, Cambodia, Nepal and Tonga the democratic institutions are still fairly weak. Tonga's elected parliament, for example, is dominated by nobles, and criticism of the king is generally not permitted.
Of course, by modern standards, the United States was not a democracy for at least the first century of its existence (voting was limited essentially to propertied white males, and the upper house of the legislature was appointed by state governors, not elected).
|