George Tsebelis

Who is George Tsebelis?

George Tsebelis is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Michigan. Tsebelis developed the theory of "veto players", set out in his best known work, Veto Players: How Political Institutions Work. Tsebelis received his Ph.D. from Washington University in St. Louis. Also a graduate degree from Pierre et Marie Curie University, Engineering Doctorate, Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris, Undergraduate Degree, and National Technical University of Athens, Undergraduate Degree

The ‘veto players’ concept is an old one, dating back at least 2000 years. Tsebelis synthesises and formalizes it. A ‘veto player’ is an individual or collective actor who has to agree for the legislative status quo to change. Tsebelis argues that having many veto players makes significant policy changes difficult or impossible. Tsebelis also predicts that systems with a high number of veto players will pass few significant laws and will tend to high deficits. Tsebelis considers two types of veto players: institutional and partisan. Some of these veto players, moreover, can present ‘take it or leave it’ proposals to the other veto players. Tsebelis calls these ‘agenda setters’.