The joint decision trap was identified by the political scientist, Fritz W. Scharpf in a 1988 scholarly article, Scharpf, Fritz W.. 'The Joint-Decision Trap. Lessons From German Federalism and European Integration'. Public Administration, Vol. 66, No. 2. pp. 239–78. It is understood to be a situation in which there is a tendency for government decisions to be taken at the lowest common denominator in situations where the decision-makers have the ability to veto the proposals. It is common challenge for federal governments, such as Germany, and the European Union.
Famous quotes containing the words joint, decision and/or trap:
“What’s a joint of mutton or two in a whole Lent?”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“Will mankind never learn that policy is not morality,—that it never secures any moral right, but considers merely what is expedient? chooses the available candidate,—who is invariably the devil,—and what right have his constituents to be surprised, because the devil does not behave like an angel of light? What is wanted is men, not of policy, but of probity,—who recognize a higher law than the Constitution, or the decision of the majority.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“We are not very much to blame for our bad marriages. We live amid hallucinations; and this especial trap is laid to trip our feet with, and all are tripped up first and last. But the mighty Mother who had been so sly with us, as if she felt that she owed us some indemnity, insinuates into the Pandora-box of marriage some deep and serious benefits, and some great joys.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)