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I'm reminded of the Monty Python sketch where a bored airline pilot says to the passengers, "you have no cause for alarm." Similarly, if a political entity cal

I'm reminded of the Monty Python sketch where a bored airline pilot says to the passengers, "you have no cause for alarm." Similarly, if a political entity calls themselves a name containing "democratic" or "republic", you can be assured that it is not a democracy.

skrebbel 6y ago
Czech republic? Actually it's a counterpoint cause they renamed to Czechia right about when their government got less democratic :-)
nickff 6y ago
>"Similarly, if a political entity calls themselves a name containing "democratic" or "republic", you can be assured that it is not a democracy. " Like the Italian Republic, Republic of Korea, French Republic, Republic of Ireland, or Republic of China? The non-democratic countries are usually 'People's Republics'.
- dmurray 6y ago
  There's no country that calls itself the Republic of Ireland. That's a football team.
  - nickff 6y ago
    The act which made "Ireland" independent was called "The Republic of Ireland Act", and reads as follows: "... the description of the State shall be the Republic of Ireland..." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland_Act_1948 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland_Act_1948
    - dmurray 6y ago
      The constitution [0] reads "The name of the State is Éire, or, in the English language, Ireland", and that act can't override it. I suppose it's splitting hairs to distinguish between the "name of the State" and the "description of the State" and either can reasonably be seen as what the country calls itself. [0] http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/cons/en/html http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/cons/en/html
    - stordoff 6y ago
      > Notably, the Act did not change the official name of the state. It merely provided the description for the State. The Constitution of Ireland provides that Éire (or Ireland in English) is the official name of the State and, if the Act had purported to change the name, it would have been unconstitutional as it was not a constitutional amendment. The distinction between a description and a name has sometimes caused confusion. The Taoiseach, John A. Costello, who introduced the Republic of Ireland Bill in the Oireachtas, explained the difference in the following way: > If I say that my name is Costello and that my description is that of senior counsel, I think that will be clear to anybody who wants to know. If the Senator [Helena Concannon] will look at Article 4 of the Constitution she will find that the name of the State is Éire. Section 2 of this Bill declares that "this State shall be described as the Republic of Ireland." Its name in Irish is Éire and in the English language, Ireland. Its description in the English language is "the Republic of Ireland."
    - rsynnott 6y ago
      The constitution specifies that the name of the country is Éire in Irish or Ireland in English, and that name is used in all official functions and diplomatic relations. The act is neither here nor there. The UK referred to Ireland as the Republic of Ireland until 2000, but it was unusual in doing so. Nowadays, "Republic of Ireland" is usually only used where disambiguation from Northern Ireland is necessary.
- FireBeyond 6y ago
  > Every faction in Africa calls themselves by these noble names - Liberation this, Patriotic that, Democratic Republic of something-or-other... I guess they can't own up to what they usually are: the Federation of Worse Oppressors Than the Last Bunch of Oppressors. Often, the most barbaric atrocities occur when both combatants proclaim themselves Freedom Fighters.
- outworlder 6y ago
  One of these things is not like the others.
- rsynnott 6y ago
  As you add more modifiers it gets worse; the Republic of the Congo is hanging out with Russia and Vietman on the EUI Democracy Index, but the Democratic Republic of the Congo is all the way down, one point above the Democratic Peoples' Republic of Korea (three modifiers; extra-evil!).
  - randycupertino 6y ago
    DRC was my first thought when I saw the parent comment! An aside, if you want one of the most amazing and thoughtfully written travel stories of recent conditions in DRC, check out this overlanding thread by a couple who went from Lubumbashi to Kinshasa. https://expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/democratic-republic-of-congo-lubumbashi-to-kinshasa.50799/ https://expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/democratic-republ... There's a TLDR here if you don't have time to follow the entire thread (though highly worth it!!) : https://jalopnik.com/the-first-people-to-drive-across-the-congo-in-20-years-5697358 https://jalopnik.com/the-first-people-to-drive-across-the-co... I enjoyed it so much I read Leopold's Ghost to learn more about the tragic history of DRC.
heinrich5991 6y ago
Federal Republic of Germany?
tgb 6y ago
That sketch predates Monty Python formation - it was part of "How to Irritate People."

skrebbel 6y ago

Czech republic? Actually it's a counterpoint cause they renamed to Czechia right about when their government got less democratic :-)

nickff 6y ago

>"Similarly, if a political entity calls themselves a name containing "democratic" or "republic", you can be assured that it is not a democracy. " Like the Italian Republic, Republic of Korea, French Republic, Republic of Ireland, or Republic of China? The non-democratic countries are usually 'People's Republics'.

dmurray 6y ago
There's no country that calls itself the Republic of Ireland. That's a football team.
- nickff 6y ago
  The act which made "Ireland" independent was called "The Republic of Ireland Act", and reads as follows: "... the description of the State shall be the Republic of Ireland..." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland_Act_1948 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland_Act_1948
  - dmurray 6y ago
    The constitution [0] reads "The name of the State is Éire, or, in the English language, Ireland", and that act can't override it. I suppose it's splitting hairs to distinguish between the "name of the State" and the "description of the State" and either can reasonably be seen as what the country calls itself. [0] http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/cons/en/html http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/cons/en/html
  - stordoff 6y ago
    > Notably, the Act did not change the official name of the state. It merely provided the description for the State. The Constitution of Ireland provides that Éire (or Ireland in English) is the official name of the State and, if the Act had purported to change the name, it would have been unconstitutional as it was not a constitutional amendment. The distinction between a description and a name has sometimes caused confusion. The Taoiseach, John A. Costello, who introduced the Republic of Ireland Bill in the Oireachtas, explained the difference in the following way: > If I say that my name is Costello and that my description is that of senior counsel, I think that will be clear to anybody who wants to know. If the Senator [Helena Concannon] will look at Article 4 of the Constitution she will find that the name of the State is Éire. Section 2 of this Bill declares that "this State shall be described as the Republic of Ireland." Its name in Irish is Éire and in the English language, Ireland. Its description in the English language is "the Republic of Ireland."
  - rsynnott 6y ago
    The constitution specifies that the name of the country is Éire in Irish or Ireland in English, and that name is used in all official functions and diplomatic relations. The act is neither here nor there. The UK referred to Ireland as the Republic of Ireland until 2000, but it was unusual in doing so. Nowadays, "Republic of Ireland" is usually only used where disambiguation from Northern Ireland is necessary.
FireBeyond 6y ago
> Every faction in Africa calls themselves by these noble names - Liberation this, Patriotic that, Democratic Republic of something-or-other... I guess they can't own up to what they usually are: the Federation of Worse Oppressors Than the Last Bunch of Oppressors. Often, the most barbaric atrocities occur when both combatants proclaim themselves Freedom Fighters.
outworlder 6y ago
One of these things is not like the others.
rsynnott 6y ago
As you add more modifiers it gets worse; the Republic of the Congo is hanging out with Russia and Vietman on the EUI Democracy Index, but the Democratic Republic of the Congo is all the way down, one point above the Democratic Peoples' Republic of Korea (three modifiers; extra-evil!).
- randycupertino 6y ago
  DRC was my first thought when I saw the parent comment! An aside, if you want one of the most amazing and thoughtfully written travel stories of recent conditions in DRC, check out this overlanding thread by a couple who went from Lubumbashi to Kinshasa. https://expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/democratic-republic-of-congo-lubumbashi-to-kinshasa.50799/ https://expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/democratic-republ... There's a TLDR here if you don't have time to follow the entire thread (though highly worth it!!) : https://jalopnik.com/the-first-people-to-drive-across-the-congo-in-20-years-5697358 https://jalopnik.com/the-first-people-to-drive-across-the-co... I enjoyed it so much I read Leopold's Ghost to learn more about the tragic history of DRC.

heinrich5991 6y ago

Federal Republic of Germany?

tgb 6y ago

That sketch predates Monty Python formation - it was part of "How to Irritate People."