A vetocracy is a dysfunctional system of governance whereby no single entity can acquire enough power to make decisions and take effective charge.[1] Coined by American political scientist Francis Fukuyama,[2] the term points to an excessive ability or willingness to use the veto power within a government or institution (without an adequate means of any override). Such limitations may point to a lack of trust among members or hesitance to cede sovereignty.

Some institutions which have been hampered by perceptions of vetocratic limitations (and even responsible for their downfall) include the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Confederate States of America, and the League of Nations.[3] The present-day United Nations Security Council has been criticized for its inability to take decisive action due to the exclusive rights of veto power of permanent members.[3] Fukuyama has argued that the United States was facing such a crisis under the republic's first constitution, the Articles of Confederation.[4]

Fukuyama has raised the alarm that the U.S. seems to have a system of government at many levels with a detrimental number of vetos have caused lots of pain and suffering due to public sector dysfunction.[5] This can lead to populism and authoritarianism as voters become frustrated with paralysis.[6]

For example, in the United States, a veto is not just held by the executive branch, but there are many other opportunities or veto points to derail a law throughout the political process. More veto points typically mean it's much more difficult to pass legislation.[7]

United States

The success rate of legislation in the U.S. in the modern era has dropped from ~7% to 2%, which could be due in part to partisanship making veto points more perilous for legislation.[7]

Veto points for federal legislation in the United States[7]

  1. Representative to propose a bill
  2. House Committee chair(s)
  3. House Committee(s)
  4. Hastert Rule
    • If the party in power decides to use it
  5. US House of Representatives
  6. Senate Committee chair(s)
  7. Senate Committee(s)
  8. Senate Filibuster
  9. Senate
  10. President
    • note: can be overridden with 2/3 support
  11. Supreme Court
  12. Lobbyists (professionals and otherwise)
    • Corporate lobbying is roughly 4x greater than all other lobbying combined (34x that of public interest and labor lobbying)[7]

Subnational governments

Vetocracy has been used to describe many state and local governments in the United States where unusually high infrastructure and housing costs are in part blamed on the many veto points.[8]

References

  1. ↑ Friedman, Thomas L. (April 21, 2012). "Opinion | Down With Everything (Published 2012)". The New York Times.
  2. ↑ Klein, Ezra (October 26, 2016). "Francis Fukuyama: America is in "one of the most severe political crises I have experienced"". Vox.
  3. 1 2 "Dangers of 'Vetocracy' in the UN". www.ukrinform.net. 18 February 2019.
  4. ↑ "Book Traces History and Decline of Political Power as Power of 'No' Rises | PBS NewsHour | April 11, 2013 | PBS". PBS. January 20, 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-01-20.
  5. ↑ Klein, Ezra (2016-10-26). "Francis Fukuyama: America is in "one of the most severe political crises I have experienced"". Vox. Retrieved 2023-01-30.
  6. ↑ "Raise the debt ceiling. Then fix our democracy". www.brennancenter.org. Retrieved 2023-01-30.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Litt, David (2020). Democracy in one book or less : how it works, why it doesn't, and why fixing it is easier than you think (First ed.). New York, NY. ISBN 978-0-06-287936-3. OCLC 1120147424.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  8. ↑ "Vetocracy, the costs of vetos and inaction". The CGO. March 2022. Retrieved 2023-01-30.
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