Anational security council (NSC) is usually anexecutive branchgovernmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related tonational security. An NSC is often headed by a national security advisor and staffed with senior-level officials from military, diplomatic, intelligence, law enforcement and other governmental bodies. The functions and responsibilities of an NSC at the strategicstate level are different from those of theUnited Nations Security Council, which is more of adiplomatic forum.
Occasionally a nation will be ruled by a similarly named body, such as "the National Security Committee" or "Council for National Security". These bodies are often a result of the establishment or preservation of amilitary dictatorship (or some other national crisis), do not always have statutory approval, and are usually intended to have transitory or provisional powers. See also:coup d'état.
Some nations may have a similar body which is not formally part of the executive government. For example, theNational Security Commission inChina is an organ of theChinese Communist Party (CCP), the sole ruling party, and headed by theCCP general secretary, rather than an organ of the executive government.