Fascinating piece, Umair with good references and lots to chew on.

I must however point out that you have a huge blindspot, AFRICA. Please, try and address it by experience or by erudition.

Unless I missed it, not once in your piece did you mention Africa or any nation in Africa, the world's second largest continent. Not entirely surprising to me as somebody who has lived — not visit— in four continents and who is fully aware of where Africa belongs on the Ladder of Relevance in the consciousness of most non-Africans especially those who know/hear about Africa mainly through the media.

Your second example, The world, is particularly pointed because the pitfalls highlighted are very much alive in most African nations. By and large, I do agree with you that Democracy as practiced in most nations across the globe today is a mirage compared with its birth in ancient Athens, Greece. I have spoken and written about the fact that today's Democracy is wrong for Africa, and Africans must come up with some type of system that bodes well for the resuscitation of the continent.