The Sociology of Sovereignty

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Examining sovereignty as a fundamental and contested concept at the heart of European politics and constitutionalism since early modern times, this book addresses the concept of sovereignty as a sociological topic. The history of sovereignty tells a tale of absolute power, and over the years has referred to God, the King, the people, the nation and the state. It has constantly been at the centre of controversy, revolution and war. Just as central here, in its various versions it has served as a response to incessant paradoxes of power. With a focus on the sociology of Max Weber and Niklas Luhmann, The sociology of sovereignty addresses intellectual understandings of the concept since early modernity, and examines dilemmas of sovereignty in the wake of state expansion, human rights and federalism. A core presumption of the book is the independence of popular sovereignty from political, military and federalist manoeuvres in European states. Yet the book also addresses the argument that sovereignty is a semantic formula, designed to settle unavoidable paradoxes of democracy and power. The sociology of sovereignty makes a significant contribution to the scholarly debate on constitutional democracy and its dilemmas.