The Social Power of Bodin's 'Sovereignty' and International Law
Article [Accepted Manuscript]
Is part of
Melbourne journal of international law ; vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 1-28.Publisher(s)
Melbourne Journal of International LawAuthor(s)
Affiliation
Abstract(s)
The word ‘sovereignty’ provides a forceful example of the social power of language as an
organic instrument playing a leading role in the continuous and continuing process of creating
and transforming human reality. The paper examines a pivotal episode in the history of the word
‘sovereignty’ — its formal introduction in the 16th century by Jean Bodin in his Six Livres de la
Republique. It focuses on the social effects ‘sovereignty’ has had on the shared consciousness of
humanity, including that of the international community. The proposed metalogical inquiry
adopts a method that draws from the hermeneutic school of historical knowledge. The argument
is that Bodin used ‘sovereignty’ for the purpose of attributing to the ruler (the French king)
supreme power in the hierarchical organisational structure of society. This idea of a pyramid of
authority is found in different elements of the discourse in Six Livres de la Republique, which is
examined in the immediate context of Bodin’s personal background as well as the extended
social, political and intellectual context of 16th century France. The conclusion shows that
Bodin’s work was the first seminal step in the development of contemporary ideas of ‘internal
sovereignty’ and ‘external sovereignty’. It is thus part of the history of the true power that the
word at hand has exercised in framing the international state system and hence the international
legal system.
Note(s)
[À l'origine dans / Was originally part of : Fac. Droit - Coll. facultaire - Théories du droit]Collections
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