before this gets locked over semantics, just thought i'd add that the russian communists have protested putin's moves toward a putinocracy.
Russian Liberals, Communists Protest Putin’s Crackdown on Democracy
besides the purported benefits to the respective countries, we're trying to get this to work in certain places (iraq, russia) so it will be easier to change other difficult areas in the future. i'm sure we'd be happier (and less worried from a strategic standpoint) with a democratic china, but i'm not sure if/how we can facilitate this change right now.
as it has been said, a democracy is compatible with our economic system. and it would seem that democratic allies are more likely to "agree to disagree" than actually use military force against one another.
it remains to be seen if this can work in the middle east and beyond...