External military overthrow of dictators has in many respects made matters worse in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya, precisely because there was no internal tradition for the rule of law.

Something similar but different can be said of Iran and Egypt - where revolutions were internal but successful, and at best one dictator was in fact replaced by another.

I am reasonably confident that parallels can be found throughout Africa, and the Indian subcontinent gives little ground for confidence in the democratic model.

Is there a fully functioning democracy in any jurisdiction in what used to be called "the East Indies"?

There are many problem jurisdictions in the West Indies, and South America too.

Is the answer to be drawn that democratic capitalism is collapsing under the weight of its own contradictions? Is this linked to the fact that nobody at all (except me) seems to care that one of the first things our present UK government did on coming to power was to make it more difficult for that government to be removed via a vote of confidence or tantamount to a vote of confidence?