A Powerful Executive

The executive is the most essential part of the government, a source of political leadership in a democratic state. A powerful and effective executive is what defines the strength of the state; the most prominent example of this is the United States Congress. The Congress has control over financial and budgetary policy, while playing an eminent role in national defense which includes the exclusive power to declare war, maintain the armed forces, and to make policies for the military. Although the media has claimed that the Congress failed at supervising other branches of the government, it is in fact in charge of all executive actions.

I would like to discuss how the American Regime has centralized all of its power with the president, and yet the executive is the one entity that determines the supremacy of the state. The president carries out most policy making and political duties which the Congress then implements. They do have limitations to their power through constitutional, political and democratic constraints, however if the majority of ministers in the assembly are in favor of the presidential regime, half the limitations are excluded.

It could in fact be said that this system democratically allows autocratic leadership; however, that is where the Congress comes in, which legally capacitates the executive of the US to keep a check on the presidential jurisdiction.

This is exactly the kind of balance that should exist in Pakistan. An autocratic leadership that can practically be controlled when and if needed.