The Time Of Popular Sovereignty: Process And The Democratic State Project Muse Upcc Books

Democracy is usually conceived as based on self-rule or rule by the people, and it is this which is taken to ground the legitimacy of the democratic form of government. But who constitutes the people? Democratic political theory has a potentially fatal weakness at its core unless it can answer this question satisfactorily. In __The Time of Popular Sovereignty__, Paulina Ochoa Espejo examines the problems the concept of the people raises for liberal democratic theory, constitutional theory, and critical theory. She argues that to solve these problems, the people cannot be conceived as simply a collection of individuals. Rather, the people should be seen as a series of events, an ongoing process unfolding in time. She then offers a new theory of democratic peoplehood, laying the foundations for a new theory of democratic legitimacy.< Examines The Concept Of The People And The Problems It Raises For Liberal Democratic Theory, Constitutional Theory, And Critical Theory. Argues That The People Should Be Conceived Not As Simply A Collection Of Individuals, But As An Ongoing Process Unfolding In Time--provided By Publisher. Introduction : The Time Of The People -- The Mob And The People In Mexico : A Historical Example Of The Indeterminacy Of Popular Unification -- A Problem In Liberal Democratic Theory : The Indeterminacy Of Popular Unification -- Mechanical And Teleological Conceptions Of The People -- A Dynamic Constitutionalism And Historical Time -- The People Between Change And Stability -- Creative Freedom And The People As Process -- A Democratic People As Process -- Conclusion : Radical Realism. Paulina Ochoa Espejo. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.