It's incredible to me that the country that made the Internet possible, has changed so much in four or five decades that it is now in the process of destroying the Internet.
This only going to result in a giant leap backwards in time to 30 years ago when there was a patchwork of networks (with universities providing the main internet backbone) but now the networks will be segmented by country - much, much more convenient for governments at the expense of everything and everyone else.
There's nothing else a country can consist of but the people that make it up.
The culture of a nation is the total compilation of all of its individuals, to the extent of their contribution and its net effect. Thus, a country does possess human values.
Some countries are more far more charitable across the board than others. The reason for that is the culture derived from the individuals that make up the country. As one simple and obvious example.
When a country turns back from the brink of making a terrible decision, that is due solely to human values held by the people. Why does Germany respect privacy to the extent that it does? Because of the values its people hold and enforce upon the government.
All decisions made by a country are human decisions made by someone. Countries consist of The People and their values, and ultimately a nation will reflect the values of its people.
Politicians are borne of the people who let them come to power, stay in power and get away with mostly acting in their (politician's) best interest. Over time, power concentrates in the hands of those who have have it and can muster the resources to keep growing it. Eventually becoming the face of the people and the country. That's my cynic's view of democracy. Not that I know of a better system. Yet.