so i know that people don't want to soften garaks edges just bc hes a popular character but i do think that people tend to somewhat over correct when it comes to garaks actual beliefs. because yes obviously he was in the space KGB and is a nationalist and was shitty about the occupation at that conference he went to, but there is also evidence that he is not actually for a fascist cardassia or even the obsidian order.
right away in profit and loss in season 2, he at first goes to take the opportunity to turn in the political dissidents to curry favor with central command but eventually chooses instead to help free them, citing his love for cardassia as the reason why. i don't know why people label that as him just saying "for cardassia" with no actual meaning behind it because the meaning there is very clear. he does actually think the military should not have as much power as it does and thinks natima lang's escaping is worth the risk to himself of him being caught by the federation or central command letting her escape.
then there's also the wire. we obviously don't know exactly what he did. but we know that he hates himself for his work in the order. he spits the story about killing the escapees out at bashir because he wants bashir to let him die. he thinks it means he deserves to die. feeling guilty doesn't absolve him of like. killing people. but he does see the violence he commited as actually wrong, unlike dukat who sees the violence of the occupation as good and righteous.
then theres "second skin" where his contacts inform him that the obsidian order has kira and he just. tells bashir. without asking for anything in return and exposing himself to be forced to help by sisko. he has no reason to do that other than. to help kira. even though it put him in danger and in direct opposition to the order.
I also think of that scene where rusot pulls a phaser on kira and garak defends her and rusot is like "you wouldn't kill one of you own people for a bajoran woman" and garak replies "how little you understand me"
then of course you have the scene with kira and damar where she says "yeah damar, what kind of people give those orders?" and he tells her that she was right to say it because "if damar is the man to lead a new cardassia... if he is the man we hope him to be then his pain will make him more receptive." like this says a lot about what garak wants to see cardassia become
and garak will argue his aggressively nationalist perspective to bashir and mock his federation optimism... but that's also what he likes about bashir. he wants to hear bashir push back against the official state sanctioned narrative and argue that there is reason for hope.
to me garak is someone who can conceive in the abstract that he would want a different kind of cardassia but he has been so smothered by tain and the order at every step of his life that he can't believe a non-fascist cardassia is feasible... but he wants to be convinced and he does have an idealist side that he gives into
