Popular sovereignty (also known as squatter sovereignty) is the doctrine that the state is created by and subject to the will of the people, who are the source of all political power. It is closely associated to the social contract philosophers, among whom Thomas Hobbes, John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

The social contract

Popular sovereignty is an idea that dates to the social contract school (mid-1600s to mid 1700s), represented by Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), John Locke (1632-1704) and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778). The central tenet is that legitimacy of rule or of law is based on the consent of the governed. Popular sovereignty is thus a basic tenet of most democracies. Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau were the most influential thinkers of this school, all postulating that individuals choose to enter into a social contract with one another, thus voluntarily giving up some rights in return for protection from the dangers and hazards of a state of nature.

A parallel development of a theory of popular sovereignty can be found among the School of Salamanca (see e.g. Francisco de Vitoria (1483–1546) or Francisco Suárez (1548–1617)), who (like the theorists of the divine right of kings) saw sovereignty as emanating originally from God, but (unlike those theorists) passing from God to all people equally, not only to monarchs.

Most republics and many constitutional monarchies are theoretically based on popular sovereignty. However, a legalistic notion of popular sovereignty does not necessarily imply an effective, functioning democracy: a party or even an individual dictator may claim to represent the will of the people, and rule in its name, pretending to detain auctoritas.

In U.S. history, the terms popular sovereignty and the equivalent but more disparaging squatter sovereignty refer generally to the right claimed by the squatters, or actual residents, of a territory of the United States to make their own laws. The most controversial aspect of sovereignty was the choice of residents to accept or reject slavery. The idea was championed by Stephen A. Douglas and provided a means to delay dealing with the larger issue. It was first proposed by Vice President George Dallas in 1847 and was popularized by Lewis Cass in his 1848 presidential campaign. The doctrine was incorporated into the Compromise of 1850 and four years later was an important feature of the Kansas-Nebraska Act.

Popular Sovereignty and Territorial Sovereignty

Popular sovereignty is a distinct concept from territorial sovereignty. As many instances of territorial cession show, territorial sovereignty is held by a government, not by the people.

This distinction is especially important when discussing the topic of military occupation. International law specifies that military occupation does not transfer sovereignty. Hence, military occupation as a result of war, while representing actual possession to all appearances, cannot imply any right whatsoever to dispose of territory. As long as hostilities continue (that is, until a peace treaty comes into effect or hostilities are otherwise formally terminated), the Occupying Power cannot annex the occupied territory, even if it occupies the whole of the territory concerned. A decision on that point can only be reached in the peace treaty. That universally recognized rule is endorsed by jurists and confirmed by numerous rulings of international and national courts.

See also

• Absolute monarchy, a monarchy where the ruler has the power to rule his or her country and citizens freely with no laws or legally-organized direct opposition
• Political absolutism, one person (generally, a monarch) should hold all power

External links

• Squatter sovereignty from volume II of Kansas: a cyclopedia of state history, embracing events, institutions, industries, counties, cities, towns, prominent persons, etc.

Forms of government | Political philosophy | Political science

Volkssouveränität | Népszuverenitás | 国民主権 | Folkesuverenitetsprinsippet | Soberania popular