Make up post-Political executives and power

In a previous blog post on political executives, I argued that the power that political executives possess is illusory, as an executive has to take into consideration and negotiate with the interests of many competing factions before making any decision. However after discussions in the class, I came to the conclusion that in retrospect, there is a great deal of power that is vested in political executives.

Firstly, the president possesses the ability to shape domestic affairs. More specifically, in the US, the President has the power to pass executive orders that are binding on all federal agencies but do not require congressional approval. This gives the President substantial power to formulate laws and instructions that benefit him/her and exercise extensive influence over domestic policy. Moreover, the president has the power to veto any legislation passed by the congress. This means that although other sections of the government seem to enjoy legislative power, the President has the authority to confine that power.

   Another aspect that contributes to executive power is the authority granted by the constitution to the president to grant pardon and amnesty to criminals whereby crimes that the President forgives are waived off. Even though these pardons are granted in the oversight of the judiciary, the President can limit its powers by altering the punishment for certain crimes. It is evident from this that even when a judicial system is present to provide checks and balances on the power of the executive, it is not difficult for the executive to circumvent that accountability. After the 9/11 attacks President George Bush expanded the domestic powers of the executive faction of the government considerably as he had public approval after the attacks.  

In terms of a nation’s foreign policy, the President is primarily responsible for appointing foreign ministers and consuls and directing the nation’s foreign policy. The president also has the duty to be the official representative of the country managing all foreign contacts.

Therefore, it is evident that the executive holds considerable domestic and foreign influence such that executive power is very real.