Modern constitutional democracies rest on the principle of popular sovereignty. The idea Lecture Series Popular Sovereigntythat ultimate authority is vested in the people has served to ground constitutional orders and legitimize political power in the modern world. With the recent rise of authoritarian parties and populist governments that assert popular legitimacy to question constitutional principles as necessary buttresses of democratic regimes, the viability and soundness of “rule of the people” has come under intense scrutiny.

Co-hosted by Bard College Berlin and Humboldt University’s Law and Society Institute, the Lecture Series on Popular Sovereignty convene distinguished scholars, political analysts, and civil society activists to probe contemporary dilemmas of democratic government and examine the challenges confronting the concept and practice of popular sovereignty today.