This book offers a systematic explanation of changes to and the stability of legislative veto points – phenomena which have largely been neglected by existing research literature so far.

Theoretically, considering actors’ strategies in legislative decision-making and institutional reform and their mutual dependence conjointly allows for the identification of institutional equilibria. The explanation provided here thereby stresses the importance of the veto points’ effects on actors’ reform preferences. With regard to reform implementation, a vetoing institution’s legitimacy is assumed to be a major factor, which can potentially trigger punishment by the electorate if it pursues illegitimate institutional objectives.

Empirically, the explanatory power of the book’s theory is assessed by means of a qualitative comparative analysis of 38 established parliamentary democracies, rounded off by historical case studies of the development of vetoing institutions in five countries.