Essay Guide: Electoral systems - USA and Germany

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I am not sure whether your thesis is accurate, but I do feel you can make a general case for this argument by comparing some of the differences between the U.S. and German political systems.

You could structure your essay around several differences in the electoral process of the two countries and point to ways in which these differences affect the representation of both citizen and corporate interests.

Feel free to use my idea, but please also consider other areas of comparison, as these are basically off the top of my head and I'm sure other areas should also be considered.

I basically think you could make your case with an intro that states your thesis and mentions the following areas of comparison: party systems, direct voting vs. proportional representation, and campaign financing.

Then you can examine and critique each country's system relative to the other in those areas in an effort to support your thesis.

At the end, your conclusion just recaps your main points and summarizes your argument.
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2 PARTY VS MULTI-PARTY

One of the differences that jump out at any observer is that the American system is basically a 2 party system, while the German (and European in general) system is multi-party. Thus, in the US the vast majority of voters are going to support one of two major parties while in Germany, there are several different major parties all vying for votes.

Obviously, voters are motivated by a whole host of issues: social, economic, ideological, etc. In Germany, voters have a wider ideological spectrum to choose from and therefore can support a party that more closely matches their interests than in a 2-Party system where a voter is often uncomfortable with various aspects of their favored party.

In Germany, an elected government usually must rely on a coalition government by forming political alliances with other parties. Thus, the ideological and economic preference of the biggest party is tempered by having to cooperate and appease minority partners to get legislation passed.

In the US, this is not the case. The party with a majority of seats in the legislatures can usually either get their agenda passed or stop the other party or President from having their agenda enacted. In American politics, however, ...