Is Poland a democratic country?

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Yes, although the governing party's assault on constitutional institutions is troubling. Flawed democracy would be an appropriate term.

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Yes. 

Well, technically it is a parliamentary republic at the moment, but it has historically been the most democratic country in that part of the world for about a thousand years.  I think that has been its main problem.  Too much democracy made them easy targets for Germany, Russia, Austria, etc., over the past several centuries.

It's interesting (and from my national point of view, depressing) how diffrently the two European countries with early parliamentary system (England and Poland-Lithuania) evolved.

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Yes, although the complete lack of viable left-of-center options means that rotation in office is perhaps less meaningful than in other democracies.

To be fair, this can be applied, to a lesser extend, to, let's say, Ireland.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Yes. 

Well, technically it is a parliamentary republic at the moment, but it has historically been the most democratic country in that part of the world for about a thousand years.  I think that has been its main problem.  Too much democracy made them easy targets for Germany, Russia, Austria, etc., over the past several centuries.

It's interesting (and from my national point of view, depressing) how diffrently the two European countries with early parliamentary system (England and Poland-Lithuania) evolved.

being an island and being "sandwiched" between two reactionary super-powers tends to do that.

Except at the time I've mentioned Brandenburg/Prussia was a minor German state and Russia used to be a favorite target for Polish-Lithuanian interventions. What you are refeering too came later, because we f**ked up our status as a major power.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Yes.  

Well, technically it is a parliamentary republic at the moment, but it has historically been the most democratic country in that part of the world for about a thousand years.  I think that has been its main problem.  Too much democracy made them easy targets for Germany, Russia, Austria, etc., over the past several centuries.

It's interesting (and from my national point of view, depressing) how differently the two European countries with early parliamentary system (England and Poland-Lithuania) evolved.

being an island and being "sandwiched" between two reactionary super-powers tends to do that.

Except at the time I've mentioned Brandenburg/Prussia was a minor German state and Russia used to be a favorite target for Polish-Lithuanian interventions. What you are refeering too came later, because we f**ked up our status as a major power.

Hell, didn't the Duchy of Prussia start out as a Polish-Lithuanian tributary?

Man, that's like the best irony ever. We must remember, though, that until Napoleonic times Prussia and Brandenburg, although ruled as one, were legally distinct entities (the former starting out as a tributary duchy-turned sovereign duchy-turned partially recognized kingdom, with the latter part of the HRE). I'm pretty sure that without the two ending up in a personal union, the history would be somewhat diffrent, with Prussia never becoming so strong.

Frederick I was able to promote himself to King thanks to the Duchy, which as mentioned was not a part of the HRE (where only King allowed was that of Bohemia). But because the Polish monarch was already "King of Prussia" (Royal Prussia), he had to name himself "King in Prussia".

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Btw, it's all started because this guy was too lazy to conquer Pagan Prussia himself and asked Teutonic Knights to come over.