The Role of the Head of State on National Security Issues in Presidential Democracies - The USA Case

Abstract

American democracy continues to be one of the most stable democracies in the world and the model followed by many countries of the world. The practice of presidential governance based on the principle of 'checks and balances' of powers, has shown that the head of state should have sufficient executive powers to preserve and guarantee the democracy, especially in the field of defense and security. Furthermore, in circumstances of threats to national security, its powers can and should set a ''balance'' of powers in favor of the executive power, while not ignoring ''control'' of other powers over the executive power. It is precisely the power of the US president in the field of defense and security that is the subject of the treatment of this paper, which will be addressed beyond classical analyses based solely on his powers as commander in chief of the army. So, we will try to analyze all the powers, which in one way or another, can affect the defense and security policies.