It is is mistake to think of democracy as something you have or don't have. The American, UK, British, Australian, French ... models are all different, so when someone talks about 'bringing democracy to xxx' the only sensible response is 'what do you mean?' As Shimrod suggested, even within any one there are substantial difference induced based on whether a minority or a majority are voting, on where the boundaries are, how many 'safe seats' there are, and so forth. Then there is the question as whether the prime responsibility of an elected person is to their constituents, their party, or their own view.   For example, I suspect it was pretty incomprehensible to the average UKer in the last US election when Hilary dropped out to hear people say in effect that since they couldn't have the Democrat they wanted they would vote Republican instead of the alternative Democrat. And it is worth noting that I heard a lecture by Edwina Currie of the ten things that were needed to be a successful politician. In the hour-long talk, she did not once mention constituents.