Institutional Veto Players
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Institutional Veto Players
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Key Concepts
Federalism: Division of powers between central and regional governments.
Bicameralism: Legislature consists of two chambers.
Constitutionalism: Governance according to rule of law through a constitution.
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Federalism
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Distinction in Federalism
Federalism in Structure: Refers to the constitutional arrangement of power.
Federalism in Practice: Refers to how power is decentralized in reality.
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Structural Components of Federalism
Geopolitical Division: Differentiation of territories.
Independence: Each level has autonomy.
Direct Governance: Governmental authority direct from each level.
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Federal vs. Unitary States
Federal State: Power is constitutionally divided allowing independent authority in specific policy domains (e.g., United States, Brazil).
Unitary State: Central authority without constitutional division of powers.
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Variation in Federalism
Congruent Federalism: Territorial units share similar demographic characteristics.
Incongruent Federalism: Demographic differences exist among territorial units.
Example: United States and Brazil exhibit congruent federalism.
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Devolution vs. Federalism
Devolution: Unitary states grant temporary powers to subnational governments without constitutional rights to powers.
Example: India with constitutional articles allowing federal government to alter state boundaries.
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Example of Devolution
India: National legislature has power to change state boundaries and appoint governors during emergencies.
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Symmetric vs. Asymmetric Federalism
Symmetric Federalism: All units have equal powers.
Asymmetric Federalism: Some units have more power than others.
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Federalism and Centralization
Whether a state is federal or unitary is a constitutional question.
Decentralization indicates where actual policymaking takes place.
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Decentralization
Definition: Distribution of strengthening policymaking power to regional governments.
Tax revenue share indicates decentralization.
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Tax Revenue Centralization
Greater share of tax revenue going to central government indicates less decentralization.
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Revenue Centralization Chart
Comparative analysis of various countries' central government share of tax revenue; identifies trends between unitary and federal systems.
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Two Dimensions of Federalism
Holding-Together Federalism: Central government decentralizes to mitigate secessionist pressures.
Coming-Together Federalism: Voluntary pooling of sovereignty among previously sovereign polities.
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Advantages of Federalism
Aligns policy closely with citizen preferences.
Enhances government accountability.
Fosters state competition for good governance.
Allows for policy experimentation.
Creates checks and balances.
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Disadvantages of Federalism
Leads to policy duplication and contradictions.
Heightens collective action problems.
Downward harmonization in competitive states.
Amplifies existing inequalities.
Facilitates blame shifting, reducing accountability.
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Bicameralism Introduction
Unicameral: Single assembly legislature.
Bicameral: Two chambers; 40% of countries use this model.
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Bicameral Systems
Congruent Bicameralism: Similar composition in both chambers.
Incongruent Bicameralism: Different compositions.
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Methods of Upper House Selection
Heredity
Appointment
Indirect elections
Direct elections
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Role of Legislative Chambers
Lower Chamber: Represents all citizens equally.
Upper Chamber: Often represents geographic subnational units, especially in federations.
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Malapportionment Issue
Definition: Unequal political representation as constituencies vary in population.
Impacts voting power and electoral fairness.
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Malapportionment Statistics
Data indicates levels of malapportionment in upper chambers; examples include U.S. and Switzerland with high malapportionment.
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Bicameral Symmetry
Symmetric Bicameralism: Equal powers between chambers.
Asymmetric Bicameralism: Unequal powers in legislative authority.
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Two Dimensions of Bicameralism
Quadrant analysis illustrates strength of bicameralism and political compositions across various countries.
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Historical Context of Bicameralism
Rooted in mixed government concept, advocating diverse representation.
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Emergence of Republicanism
Shift towards representing the populace instead of social classes in governance.
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Role of Bicameralism in Federal States
Lower chamber = popular will; Upper chamber = territorial representation.
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Upper Chamber Characteristics in Unitary States
Often lacking power and informed by appointed members for wisdom and experience.
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Arguments for Bicameralism
Protects federal interests and preferences.
Enhances the quality of legislation in unitary states.
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Constitutionalism Defined
Constitutionalism: Commitment to rule of law and governance per constitutional provisions.
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Role of Constitution
Establishes state authority structures, powers, duties, and rights.
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Types of Constitutions
Codified: Written in single document.
Uncodified: Multiple documents, can be written or unwritten.
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Constitution Classification
Entrenched: Requires special procedures for amendment.
Unentrenched: Can be modified easily.
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Ideal Types of Constitutions
Legislative Supremacy: No constitutional review.
Higher Law Constitution: Involves constitutional review and a bill of rights.
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Constitutional Review Explained
Authority to invalidate conflicting laws/decisions.
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Constitutional Courts
Special tribunals for constitutional review; distinct from regular judiciary.
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New Constitutionalism Trend
Global shift towards higher law constitutions.
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Variations in Constitutional Justice
Differences in review types, timing, and jurisdiction among countries.
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Review Types
Abstract Review: No legal case needed; legislation evaluated separately.
Concrete Review: Legislation assessed with regard to specific cases.
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Review Timing
A Priori: Before enacting laws.
A Posteriori: After laws are enacted.
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Jurisdiction of Review
Centralized: One court conducts review.
Decentralized: Multiple courts interpret the constitution.
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Veto Player Theory Overview
Conceptualizes political institutions based on configuration of veto players.
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Veto Players Defined
Individuals/collective actors needed for changing the political status quo.
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Types of Veto Players
Institutional Veto Players: Defined by the constitution.
Partisan Veto Players: Defined by political dynamics.
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Institutions as Veto Players
Federalism, bicameralism, and constitutionalism create barriers to altering political status quo.
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Effects of Veto Player Configuration
Greater policy stability.
Smaller policy shifts.
Less variation in size of policy shifts.
Weaker agenda-setting power.
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Reminder on Key Concepts
Indifference Curve: Represents preference consistency among alternatives.
Winset of Status Quo: Alternatives preferred over the status quo by veto players.
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Application of Veto Player Theory
Example illustrated with variations in policy outcomes based on veto player configurations.
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Impact of Winset Size
Small winset = high policy stability; Large winset = potential for significant policy shifts.
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Variance in Policy Shifts
Small winset = consistent small policy shifts; Large winset = variety in policy shift sizes.
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Agenda-Setting and Winset
Small winset limits the agenda-setting power; larger winset allows more significant shifts.
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Effects of Veto Players on Winset
Increasing veto players often leads to smaller winset or none at all.
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Visualization of Veto Player Impact
Diagrams illustrating the relationship between number of veto players and winset size:
Display of winsets with two vs. three veto players.
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Ideological Distance and Winset
Similar vs. dissimilar ideological positions influence the size of the winset significantly.
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Joint Determinants of Winset Size
Winset size is influenced by both the number of veto players and the ideological distance among them.
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Reevaluation of Institutions
Federalism, bicameralism, constitutionalism can be reexamined through the lens of veto player theory.
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Implications of High Veto Player Count
Characterized by:
Stability in policy.
Smaller and less variable policy shifts.
Weak agenda-setting capabilities.
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Consequences of Stability
In parliamentary systems: Encourages instability.
In presidential systems: May lead to broader regime instability.