Democracy and sovereignty: Afterword to the Foreword by Neil Walker. (30th March 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Rubinelli, Lucia
• Is Part Of: International journal of constitutional law. Volume 19:Number 1(2021)
• Page Start: 28
• Page End: 33
• Publication Date: 2021-03-30
• Subjects: Constitutional law -- Periodicals; 342.005
• DOI: 10.1093/icon/moab005
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1474-2640

Abstract

Abstract: Neil Walker's analysis in his Foreword article of the centrality of sovereignty to contemporary politics is compelling, in that it reveals the extent to which this concept underpins current theorizing about the state and its legal structure. In this Afterword, I explore two questions that arise from Walker's analysis: why has sovereignty remained so central to our legal and political thinking? And is the centrality of sovereignty desirable? I suggest that the answer to both questions may have to do with the connection tying modern understandings of sovereignty with the democratic principle of popular power.