Based on the criteria of the article posted above, perhaps the South didn't really qualify as a "democracy", or at least the North didn't because it failed to respect the will of the Southerners. I'm not disagreeing with you though, and indeed your (perhaps correct) insights are alarming. All this time the U.N. has been preaching that democracy is the panacea....perhaps as a pretext for its subsidized meddlesomeness? You've helped make it clear that there are limitations to the UN's claims though. and it has had a sobering effect on my optimism for humanity's peaceful prospects on Mars and such. I appreciate the enlightenment. This forum seems to have some of the most intellectually high powered publishers one can find on the 'net.