Popular sovereignty is used to refer to the people as the highest authority in society. Therefore, it has a governmental and leading function and, once it is integrated into a democracy, it is represented through a legal and political entity called the People. It is the People who are in charge of establishing the laws and governing society through the bases of democracy. It does so with a series of political representatives that citizens elect with their votes. The 1978 Spanish Constitution, in article 1.2, establishes the following: “National sovereignty resides in the Spanish people, from whom the powers of the State emanate.” Therefore, simply put, in a democratic regime, it is the people who elect the political representatives of the States.The origin of Popular Sovereignty Popular sovereignty was born as the opposition of national sovereignty, in which, as its own name indicates, the power referred to the nation and not to the people as such. The origin of popular sovereignty dates back to the 16th century by the hand of Jean Bodin who drew up a series of precepts that should be applied to the power exercised by the King of France. Jean Bodin defended the absolute monarchy, a system of Government in which the King concentrates 100% of power and, therefore, there is no division of powers.In 1762, Jean-Jacques Rousseau took up the idea of sovereignty , but with a completely different approach. He redefined this concept and gave it a more current vision. It became a historical unit of people with the same habits and customs who decide to form a State without anyone having power over it. In this way, it is the people who were in charge of constituting the State.In addition to controlling it, you can also change it if you see fit. As the concept of popular sovereignty is understood today, the rulers are the servants of the people. At the same time, the people exercise power over individuals. Characteristics And, finally, it should be noted that for sovereignty to fall on the people, a series of conditions must be met. The existence must be endorsed through an official document, such as a constitution. All public power comes from the people and, of course, there must be a separation of powers. In addition, individual freedom must be guaranteed for the collective organization.
