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Asst. Prof.Chanmiki War, , BA 1st Semester – Political Theory – Unit 3, , UNIT - 3, KINDS OF SOVEREIGNTY, The following are the different kinds of Sovereignty :, 1) Nominal and Real Sovereignty : In some of the states sovereignty may be seen in two, forms. A nominal or titular sovereign is one whose authority is in name only. A real sovereign, is one who actually uses his power. The English monarch is the best example of a nominal, sovereign who reigns but does not govern. All administration is done in his name. But the real, exercise of power is vested in the ministers under the leadership of the Prime Minister who are, collectively responsible to the parliament. Hence this is a popular saying that "kings can do no, wrong". Gone are the days of absolute monarchy when the king was the real ruler or sovereign, of his state. The President of India also belong to this category. But the President of United, State and France belong to the category of a real sovereign. They govern in the real sense of, the term., 2) Legal and Political Sovereignty: A legal sovereign is one who has the highest power of, making and enforcing a law. A law made by such a sovereign is binding on all concerned people, and parties. It may be changed or repealed by the same authority. The British Parliament is the, best example of legal sovereign that may make any laws as per its best judgement., On the other hand Political sovereignty signifies the power of the electorate., The voters can make and unmake a parliament. The members of the parliament cannot make a, law that is not acceptable to the voters and, if it happens, the voters may rise in revolt and, thereby change their parliament. It is for this reason that political sovereignty lies behind legal, sovereignty. According to Dicey “behind the legal sovereign there is another sovereign to, whom the legal sovereign must bow and this power is the political sovereign”. According to, Gilchrist,” political sovereignty is the sum total of the influence in a state which lie behind the, law”. In common language it refers to the power of the people which manifests itself in the, shape of public meetings, speeches, processions, demonstrations etc. While formulating the, laws the legal sovereign has to ensure that it enacts only such laws which are acceptable to the, people or the political sovereign., 3) De Jure and De facto Sovereignty : A de jure sovereign is one who secure power and, occupies his office according to the well established laws and by virtue of that he has the, authority to issue commands and secure the obedience of the peoples of his state. It means that, his occupation of the office and then exercise of all power rests on the authority of the law of, the land., On the other hand, a de facto sovereign is one who occupies the highest office of, the state in an illegal or unconstitutional manner and make use of force to enforce his will. Such, type of sovereignty may come into existence as a result of war or revolt in the country. Lord, Bryce says, "The person or body of persons who can make his or their will against the law and, whom the obedience is actually paid is the de facto ruler (or rulers). History has full of such, instances when some ambitious person seized power in a revolt and then declared himself as, the real ruler of the country. In England Cromwell became the de facto ruler after the execution, of King Charles I and dissolution of the Long parliament in 1649. In France Napoleon became, the de facto ruler after overthrowing the Directory in 1796. In Pakistan Ayub Khan became the, de facto sovereign after wresting (Seizing) power from President Iskander Mirza in 1958., However this distinction is generally made in times of revolution or war only,, when the de jure sovereign is overthrown and a new de facto sovereign assumes power by force,, having no legal claim to power. After the lapse of some time, when the de facto sovereign, shows sign of permanence and continuity and is able to acquire popular consent, either by, democratic methods or by force, it will become de jure sovereign as well and will be so, recognized by other states. The difference is thus temporary. Either the de jure sovereign, regains its authority or the de facto acquires legal sanction and becomes de jure sovereign. For

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Asst. Prof.Chanmiki War, , BA 1st Semester – Political Theory – Unit 3, , example, the Communist Government in China remained de facto sovereign whereas the, National Government under Chiang Kai-sheik was de jure government. Since the Communist, Government of China has now been recognized by the international community, it has now, assumed the position of a de jure sovereign as well., 4) Popular Sovereignty : Popular Sovereignty implies the highest power of people in the state., The traces of this concept can be found in the writings of the Roman period. In ancient times, the Roman held the view that the authority of the Commonwealth was derived from the, corporate power of the people. However in modern times its best exponent is Rousseau of, France who propounded the theory of social contract in the 18th century. While elaborating his, social contract theory Rousseau stated that the authority of the state was based on the "General, Will" of the people. The concept was given a practical shape by the preamble to the US, constitution which emphasised that the constitution draws its authority from the people. In the, 19th century with the spread of democracy the doctrine of popular sovereignty gained more, prominence and at present it is universally accepted in all democratic society though in actual, practice it assumes the shape of political sovereignty.