This list is cobblers. First you have to define the exact contours of democracy. I mean Saud's could claim that they have democracy. All the royals numbering in 1,000s choose the direction of the kingdom. Think about USA. It did not allow vote to at least 15-20% of it's citizens on account of skin colour until last century. Hardly 'demo' cracy is it?
You are wrong.
All political systems have some measures of discrimination in them. Think about it .
Are you a 'citizen' of Pakistan? Here is a shocker for you -- citizenship is political discrimination. Citizenship is about a relationship between a person and the state that exists under unique criteria. Flaws inside that criteria does not negate the idea of citizenship. Likewise for democracy. The US did discriminate certain persons from citizenship and the democratic processes, but for those who do qualify, they were not denied their participation should they chose to.
As for the Saudis and countries like theirs, what exists are degrees of democratic-ness. Compares to US, Saudi Arabia is not a democracy and this is where a crucial understanding must take place -- vacuum. Saudi Arabia, German Democratic Republic, or Democratic People's Republic of Korea each cannot call itself 'democratic' in a vacuum. They must -- and are -- compared against others who claimed to be 'democratic'.
I am Asian-American. What does that mean? Nothing, really. If you have never seen a black, white, or brown person, me being Asian is meaningless. But the moment you see a white person, now you can see the contrasts between us. Now you have an idea of what is 'Asian-ness' and 'white-ness', at least based upon external cues.
No difference with democracy. A country can claim to be 'democratic', but what does that mean? Is there a country that is more 'democratic' than US? Many would argue the Scandinavian countries qualify. But even if we grant them that status, that does not make the US 'non-democratic' because the differences between US and them are conceptually minor. If you have a vacuum, you cannot have a valid comparison.
