Still haven't finished it, good read indeed
I was a little concerned when it got onto "democracy and war"; they added a little nuance that such arguments paper over.
If the democratic smaller country is fulfilling the policy objectives of the larger democratic country, all well and good; should the smaller country undertake policies that don't line up with the desires of the larger => war. It nicely describes US policy in Latin America.
"Promoting democracy" is all well and good, unless they desire something we don't like.