Oh it is a democracy, but not “direct democracy”. We don’t choose what happens, we just choose who decides what happens.

Still not a democracy, you just described a Republic, which is what we’ve always officially been even if die hard patriots prefer to say democracy

What are you talking about? The people electing representatives that makes the final decisions is called “representative democracy”. A republic is a form of representative democracy. A constitutional monarchy, like you find a lot of in Europe, is another form of representative democracy that fit the original description, without being republics.

I have never written a PhD thesis, so I might not be the best representative, but it’s the first time I’ve heard the phrase.

What is a doctor father?

No Rolls Bared played a round of this a while back in one of their House Rules episodes.