The Representation of Sovereignty

The essay goes back to the roots of a ‘classical’ theory of sovereignty, to clarify an important point regarding the relation between sovereignty and exception. This is necessary because the so-called state of exception that characterizes a significant number of theories on sovereignty, is comparable to a critical state, in which the elements of exceptionality seem insurmountable by the normal governance of a nonetheless excellent administration of the public affairs. In short, it’s a matter to clarify what is the link between Sovereignty and Crisis, on the clear assumption that the two terms appears indissoluble and constitutive. Modern sovereignty is not based on norm, but on exception. Its own crisis is one of its constitutive elements; it seems indeed the sole answer that, for not less than five hundred years, we can give to the inevitable decline of the idea of a single political form of the world.