Ideally, the United States is supposed to be a constitutional republic, managed by a political system with three separate but co-equal branches of government that have distinct responsibilities. It’s messy and time-consuming more often than not; look no further than the ongoing debate in Washington about immigration or the countless cases gumming up the courts. Yet the process has worked relatively well for the U.S., and for all its blemishes is still upheld around the world as the prime example of good governance.
However, on matters of war and peace, the most important decision a state can make on behalf of its people, the U.S. has been a de-facto monarchy for quite some time. The president has hogged all the power and expanded it to new domains, far beyond what the U.S. Constitution expressly permits. And the legislative branch, by and large staffed with lawmakers who are unwilling to debate—let alone vote on—whether U.S.military action in a particular country is in the U.S. interest, is content with allowing the executive to do what it pleases.
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