Bodin’s concept of sovereignty, and we shall examine some of
them. First is the concept of dualism. Dualists believe that
sovereignty can be shared, so long as the areas to be shared are
carefully delineated and defined. Probably the most important
experiment in dualism has been the one which has been in effect
for the last two hundred years in the United States, where the
federal government shares power with the states. Another con
cept that challenges Bodin’s is internationalism. International
ists contend that no nation is truly sovereign. In a world of
nuclear weapons, economic interdependence, treaties and alli
ances, sovereignty is an illusion. No nation is free to do whatever
it wants to do. No nation, says the internationalists, does what it
chooses to do. It does what it must do to survive in a totally
interdependent world.
Also, there are people who claim that law is sovereign. They
contend that no one, no entity, is higher than the law. The
impeachment of Andrew Johnson is an example of an American
president, one of the most powerful men in the world, being
subject to law. Likewise the resignation of Richard Nixon, at the
time probably the most powerful man in the world, was brought
about by the force of law. At the other extreme there are those
who say that power is sovereign, and in the final analysis power
exists in the barrel of a gun. Those who accept the idea that power
is sovereign contend that sovereignty is the final authority.
Authority requires power of enforcement, and enforcement
requires superior force. If Nixon were the most powerful man in
the world, he would not have had to submit to the Congress. As
Commander-in-Chief, he could have mobilized the army and
maintained power. Those who subscribe to the power school of
thought would say that the only reason he resigned was because
he chose not to use the power at his command, since he did, in
fact, have the power.
Another group believes in the idea of popular sovereignty,
which claims that after all, the people are sovereign. This group
contends that law is not sovereign; if all the people want a law
changed, it will be changed. They believe that if the people truly
want something, regardless of the pressures of the international
community, the people will prevail. Finally, they say that if the
people want something, dualism doesn’t matter and force cannot
prevail over everyone. The popular sovereignty adherents claim
114 Political Theory: The Relationship of Man and the State