If you got it right, then it would mean that Western political systems work exactly the same way as they should by the ideal plan on the paper. I do not see this being the case, not in Europe and not in America (just pointing to the most obvious examples of Vietnam and Iraq 2003 where the political-economical alliance betrayed and misled the people and democratic checks-and-balances not only did not work but where actively and intentionally disengaged). On these deformations of how democratic systems on both sides of the Atlantic were meant, historically, there is little difference between America and Europe. Do not think that in Europe states also should not represent the people like they shgould in America. It'S not as if democratic rules are unique for the US only - the problem is the rules get broken here as well as there. Both continents' s political structures are corrupt and rotten to the bone. And both just manipulate the people.
As to how the ordinary people perceived reunification, I know that some of the older generations opposed it, but in egneral I think it is no incorrect statement that in general a majority in Wetsern nations did not fear a reunited Germany and indeed meant it honest when congratulating Germans. I would also dare to claim that the majority probably was the bigger, the younger the population group was that you asked for their opinion.
Strange to see younger Germansy today that are as old now as I was back then in 1989 - and that almost were not even born, or do not have any real memory of the division ever having existed. People leaving school today got born alredy 2-3 years after reunification. To them all talking abiout it is like talking about WWII is for me - hear-say. Just that my generation seems to have a better (learned) education on WWII, than their generation has about the GDR.
There is growing sweet-talking about the GDR going on in Germany, and that is helped by lacking education about it. As I expressed in an other topic some days ago, I am not all enthusiastic about reunification myself, but I have totally different reasons for that: I see the link to the present state of the EU and its re-orientation, and the Euro currency, and I wonder if the way these two came about since the end of the cold war, really were an affordable price for the interests of just one people in Europe. The sick currency, the loss of the solid D-Mark, and the anti-freedom EU superstate imo are to high a price for German reunification, and all Europe is paying for it. It has become clear in recent days and weeks, that the reorientation of the EU and the early introduction of the Euro against all economic reason were the price France demanded to wave reunification through. I lived ten years in a divided city. But still I say that price probably was too high.