Bodin and the concept of sovereignty: the boundary between right and power

Abstract

Jean Bodin defines sovereignty as the perpetual and absolute power of the Commonwealth
– that is to say – a legislative power that knows neither conditions, nor constraints, nor obligations. Nevertheless, he also affirms that all sovereigns are subject to the laws of God and nature and to several human laws common to all peoples. So how can a power define as absolute can have limits? This is the contradiction pointed out by several interpreters of his political thought. My purpose is to show the imprecision of these opinions and to propose an interpretation that makes consistent the idea that the sovereign can be both above the civil law and subject to boundaries that limit his power to legislate.