What are some of the major differences between the American and European political systems? Is the American political system any less democratic or more democratic than the European political system?

The historical differences are obvious: the United States of America was born more than 200 years ago, out of a will of the British colonies to release themselves from the Crown. Europe, on the contrary, has been built less than one century ago, little by little, block by block (first by coal and steel, then by an economic area, etc.). What Europe is still missing to unify all its citizens is the election by universal suffrage of a President. In 2008, the American President's election brought together all Americans - and this even if the power remains de facto quite limited. On the other hand, in the European Union, the parliamentary elections are marked by a decreasing participation rate. Euro-enthousiasts call for political parties created out of transnational lists, and for proposals of a candidate to the presidency of the Commission at the time of the parliamentary campaign, in order to strongly politicise the debate.

Another fundamental difference between the USA and the EU is the language: even if the plurality of the accents (sometimes different at the point to be almost incomprehensible one for the other) is real, English language is the standard in the USA. A presence of media on all the American territory, is also something which does not exist in Europe where 23 official languages coexist. The link between citizens in general and of the policies in particular to the "Founding Fathers" is also very different: in the USA, it is common to refer to them in political discussions, whereas in the EU few citizens even know the names of the founders of Europe, and even less the principles which guided them. Finally, the American citizen feels completely American, while, on the opposite, the European will first (or even only) feel belonging to his/her State of origin.

Source : www.thenewfederalist.eu