There is an episode on the Mrs. Secretary of State TV series where the US President is diagnosed with a mental disorder due to a tumor. Due to this, he is preparing to start the Third World War. He ignores the advice of everyone around him and almost hits the nuclear bomb button. But the US Constitution has special procedures that prohibit the President from performing his duties in such cases and that make him receive compulsory treatment. The Vice President temporarily performs those duties until the President receives treatment and passes psychological tests. He can only continue his duties after this.
In this case, we must consider it to be good fortune that Armenia does not possess nuclear weapons. If we were a nuclear nation and if we were to have a Prime Minister like Nikol Pashinyan in that case, humanity would face a serious threat. During his next mental breakdown, he would give a fiery speech and reach for the nuclear bomb button. As of today, he is only destroying the state of Armenia, but if he were to have the opportunity, he would destroy the whole planet.
There are certain mechanisms in countries that possess nuclear weapons to ensure that the person in power is responsible and not adventurous. Of course, these mechanisms differ greatly in the USA, Russia, and, say, China, but they directly contradict what we envision to mean democracy. In particular, no matter how eccentric Trump is, he cannot say something like, “Since the people voted for me, I can destroy the world.” If he were to hand over half of his country to any enemy in war, he cannot say, “You know, I wasn’t the one who handed it over. The former President is the one to blame.” It is impossible for him to say in such cases, “Since hundreds of thousands of protesters haven’t taken to the streets, I think that the people continue to love me.” Or, “Since I don’t like the opposition party, I will not resign.” The United States has a Congress that people are elected to who aren’t angels, of course, but they are competent and accountable to their constituents. There are responsible officials in the President’s cabinet, and there is an influential elite whose opinions even Trump cannot disagree with.
There essentially aren’t mechanisms in the Armenian Constitution to replace the Prime Minister who gave away half of Armenia. The ruling party that led the country to a disastrous defeat can continue to rule unhindered. Of course, one of the reasons for that is the large number of lost citizens who still believe in the lies of the government. But, in addition, there must be laws instated that will keep the people away from such disasters and that would provide responsibility in case such disasters were to occur. As long as these mechanisms do not exist, disasters will continue.
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Aram Abrahamyan
