Political Order and Political Decay

The three components Fukuyama stresses the importance of the three pillars of the modern state, as described in the first volume in the series, The Origins of Political Order: • The state (executive capability to exercise power). • Rule of Law (vs. Rule by Law) • Democratic Accountability. In other words, in an ideal system, a powerful and efficient state is kept in check by the people, and by the law, which can bind the state itself. Importantly, Fukuyama distinguishes between an effective state and a large state. From the end of the 19th century to the mid-20th century, however, the Progressive Movement and the New Deal transformed the American state and made it much stronger and more effective. Successful political order requires institutions that can check and channel these impulses, thereby allowing productivity and the public good. Fukuyama argues that in the modern world, the institutions best accomplish this feat is a strong state coupled with the rule of law and democratic accountability. == Political decay in the United States ==

In his 1968 book Political Order in Changing Societies, Samuel P. Huntington used the term "political decay" to describe the instability experienced by many newly independent countries after World War II. The judicialization of processes then results in "uncertainty, procedural complexity, redundancy, lack of finality, [and] high transaction costs." Consequences The result of the process, Fukuyama argues, is a vicious cycle. When the American state performs poorly, it reinforces distrust and lessens investments in the state, which then leads to even poorer performances. Yet, in the United States, a veneration of the Constitution and the founding fathers have impeded necessary government reforms. Fukuyama fears that America’s problems may increasingly come to characterize other liberal democracies, such as European countries, where “the growth of the European Union and the shift of policy making away from national capitals to Brussels” has made “the European system as a whole . . . resemble that of the United States to an increasing degree.” ==See also==