Different Democratic Manifestations

As a United States citizen, I tend to think of our two-party system as typical of democracy, even though I hear, from time-to-time, of many political parties existing in other democracies.  Frances Moore Lappé explains:

[I]t’s worth noting that our two-party stranglehold is an anomaly.  In Germany, five major parties participate in parliament; in Sweden, it’s seven parties; and in the Netherlands, eleven.  In fact, in most of Western Europe, the former Soviet Union, and in a majority of the emerging democracies of Eastern Europe, a party can win a certain minimum of the national vote—in some countries as low as 4 or 5 percent—and still participate in the government.

I'm jealous.

(From Democracy's Edge)