Abstract
This article highlights the influences of popular sovereignty as formulated by Rousseau to contemporary political theory. Based on the idea that democracy and popular sovereignty are not necessarily connected, we intend to show how such overlapping is rooted in conception of people inherited from the Rousseaunian ideals. Also, we highlight how the distinction between the origins and the actual exercise of political power still affects our thoughts on democracy and popular sovereignty. We argue that this distinction drove political theory away from debates on democracy, sovereignty and the constituent power of the people.
Keywords:
Popular Sovereignty; Democracy; Constituent Power; Rousseau