When the People Rule: Popular Sovereignty in Theory and Practice

doi:10.1017/9781009263757

When the People Rule

Popular Sovereignty in Theory and Practice

Search within full text

In recent decades, popular sovereignty has come under increasing pressure. The rise of populism, often illiberal or authoritarian, has undermined minority rights, individual autonomy, and rule of law. The expansion of international institutions and greater reliance on market and non-governmental organizations have gradually insulated large areas of policymaking from public control. In turn, these developments cast doubt on the viability and desirability of liberal democracy itself. When the People Rule argues that comprehending and responding to the political crises of our time requires a radical refocusing on popular sovereignty. Each chapter offers a fresh perspective and opens new avenues of inquiry into popular sovereignty, advancing debate over the very heart of this principle - what it means for the people to rule. Thorough and timely, this volume is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

‘‘We, the People…’ are the beginning words of the American Constitution, perhaps ‘the’ founding document of popular sovereignty. Yet who are the People, and who decides who they are, and how? Such questions imply contested notions of identity, belonging, representation and agency. The excellent contributions to this timely volume do not shy away from controversy when pointing to the many challenges autocratic tendencies and nationalisms pose to the liberal order. The book is a ‘must-read’ for students of democracy and the future of liberalism.’

Helmut K. Anheier - Hertie School

‘This wide-ranging and timely volume argues persuasively that popular sovereignty is an essential concept for understanding political life. Drawing on an impressive variety of scholarly perspectives, the contributors show how popular sovereignty is an indispensable framework not only for analyzing the origins and evolution of modern democracies and their troubled present, but also for imagining their futures.’

Ran Halévi - Gallimard

‘When the People Rule is a refreshingly wide ranging, historically rich and conceptually sophisticated set of essays that illuminate the theory and practice of popular sovereignty. Its star cast of theorists and historians rescues the idea of self-rule from the condescension of those who regard it as an empty place holder or a purely formal concept. Instead, it focuses on how political sovereignty is made to work in different contexts through constant innovation and the actual labor of politics. Its essays shed light on many old puzzles in political theory. At the same time, it powerfully illuminates contemporary political debates over democracy and populism.’

Pratap Bhanu Mehta - Princeton University and Center for Policy Research Delhi

‘Who are The People? Should they rule? Can they? Do they? How? These are among the oldest and deepest questions in political theory. The answers offered by the erudite and provocative essays in this stellar collection set the terms for debating the most pressing issues facing democracy today.’

Josiah Ober - Stanford University

- Aa Reduce text
- Aa Enlarge text

View selected items
Save to my bookmarks
Export citations
Download PDF (zip)
Save to Kindle
Save to Dropbox
Save to Google Drive
Save content to
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to .

To save content items to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Please be advised that item(s) you selected are not available.
You are about to save
Your Kindle email address

Please provide your Kindle email.

@free.kindle.com @kindle.com (service fees apply)

By using this service, you agree that you will only keep content for personal use, and will not openly distribute them via Dropbox, Google Drive or other file sharing services

Full book PDF

Page 1 of 2

First
« Prev
1
2
Next »
Last

Contents

When the People Rule
pp i-i
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

SSRC Anxieties of Democracy - Series page
pp ii-ii
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

Sponsored by the Social Science Research Council
pp iii-iv
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

When the People Rule - Title page
pp v-v
Popular Sovereignty in Theory and Practice
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

Copyright page
pp vi-vi
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

Contents
pp vii-viii
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

Figures
pp ix-x
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

Notes on Contributors
pp xi-xiv
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

Preface and Acknowledgments
pp xv-xviii
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

Table of Cases
pp xix-xx
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

Introduction
pp 1-20
- By Ewa Atanassow, Thomas Bartscherer, David A. Bateman
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

Part I
pp 21-110
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

1 - Plato and the Problems of Modern Politics
pp 23-39
- By Thomas Bartscherer
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

2 - The Sovereign and the Tyrant
pp 40-56
Boundaries and Violation in Oedipus
- By Elizabeth K. Markovits
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

3 - The Fact of Fiction
pp 57-72
Popular Sovereignty as Belief and Reality
- By Ioannis D. Evrigenis
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

4 - Thomas Hobbes and the Making of Popular Sovereignty
pp 73-90
- By Richard Boyd
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

5 - Popular Sovereignty on Trial
pp 91-110
Tocqueville versus Schmitt
- By Ewa Atanassow
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

Part II
pp 111-254
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

6 - “As God Rules the Universe”
pp 113-138
Reflections on the People and the State in Early America
- By Ira Katznelson
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

7 - The Sovereign People and the Liberal Democratic State
pp 139-157
- By David A. Bateman
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

8 - Three Vignettes
pp 158-172
Popular Sovereignty in French History
- By Daniella Sarnoff
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

9 - The Founding of India and Popular Sovereignty
pp 173-188
- By Ornit Shani
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

10 - The “Other” Boundary Problem
pp 189-203
Fictions of Popular Sovereignty at the State’s Edge
- By Matthew Longo
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

11 - The #BlackLivesMatter Movement and Black Public Opinion
pp 204-217
A New Populist Divide in the Black Community?
- By Alvin B. Tillery,
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

12 - Popular Sovereignty and Recognition
pp 218-233
- By H. Abbie Erler
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

13 - Populism, Popular Sovereignty, and Periphery
pp 234-254
- By Julia R. Azari, Alexis Nemecek
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

Part III
pp 255-334
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

14 - The Place of Constitutional Courts in Regimes Embracing Popular Sovereignty
pp 257-274
Recent Problems in American Self-Governance
- By Carol Nackenoff
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

15 - Popular Sovereignty, Populism, and Stories of Peoplehood
pp 275-291
- By Rogers M. Smith
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

16 - Popular Sovereignty in the Trump Era
pp 292-303
A Case Study of Pedagogy and Practice
- By Nicole Mellow, Andrew J. Perrin
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

Page 1 of 2

First
« Prev
1
2
Next »
Last

Metrics

Altmetric attention score

Total number of HTML views: 0

Total number of PDF views: 0 *

Loading metrics...

Total views: 0 *

Loading metrics...

* Views captured on Cambridge Core between #date#. This data will be updated every 24 hours.

Usage data cannot currently be displayed.

Why this information is here

This section outlines the accessibility features of this content - including support for screen readers, full keyboard navigation and high-contrast display options. This may not be relevant for you.

Accessibility Information

The HTML of this book complies with version 2.2 of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), offering more comprehensive accessibility measures for a broad range of users and attains the highest (AAA) level of WCAG compliance, optimising the user experience by meeting the most extensive accessibility guidelines.

Content Navigation

Table of contents navigation

Allows you to navigate directly to chapters, sections, or non‐text items through a linked table of contents, reducing the need for extensive scrolling.

Index navigation

Provides an interactive index, letting you go straight to where a term or subject appears in the text without manual searching.

Reading Order and Textual Equivalents

Single logical reading order

You will encounter all content (including footnotes, captions, etc.) in a clear, sequential flow, making it easier to follow with assistive tools like screen readers.

Full alternative textual descriptions

You get more than just short alt text: you have comprehensive text equivalents, transcripts, captions, or audio descriptions for substantial non‐text content, which is especially helpful for complex visuals or multimedia.

Visualised data also available as non‐graphical data

You can access graphs or charts in a text or tabular format, so you are not excluded if you cannot process visual displays.

Visual Accessibility

Use of high contrast between text and background colour

You benefit from high‐contrast text, which improves legibility if you have low vision or if you are reading in less‐than‐ideal lighting conditions.

When the People Rule

Popular Sovereignty in Theory and Practice

Book description

Reviews

Refine List

Actions for selected content:

Save Search