I'm trying to understand complex sentence-completion questions whilst preparing for the GRE examination. Here is one such sentence:
The demands of _____ and _____ notwithstanding, a page or two in Dahl's recent book on democracy that considered what public-choice economics has to say about "democratic failure" —or at least a clear signpost to that literature—would have been very well spent.
❑ clarity
❑ brevity
❑ comprehensiveness
❑ economy
❑ cogency
❑ thoroughness
What exactly does notwithstanding mean here? The definition of the word, according to Google is,
preposition
in spite of.
"notwithstanding the evidence, the consensus is that the jury will not reach a verdict"
synonyms: in spite of, despite, regardless of, for all"notwithstanding his many activities, Alan finds time to be a dedicated husband and father"
I can understand the example given above because it reads just fine if you replace it with despite, but it still doesn't make sense to me in the question I posted.