(iPoster) Holistic Dynamic Sovereignty as a Theory of Limited Government

• In Event: Poster Session: Foundations of Political Theory 1 (Normative)

Abstract

This paper seeks to defend a non-liberal notion of self-government by articulating “holistic dynamic sovereignty,” a new approach that reconciles elements of both “monolithic” (e.g., Bodin, Hobbes, Rousseau—indivisible authority vested in a single agent or cohesive group) and “superordinate” (e.g., Pettit—polycentric sovereignty emerging from the interaction of diverse institutions) accounts of sovereignty. Drawing on insights from Chinese political thought (e.g., Mou Zongsan, Zhao Tingyang, Stephen Angle), this model synthesizes the strengths and mitigates the limitations of both conceptions. Holistic dynamic sovereignty redefines the sovereign as both monolithic and superordinate, unified through a “harmonizing office” that embodies the state’s will as a coherent whole while integrating contributions from its constituent parts. This conception critiques the centralized, monistic nature of popular sovereignty, proposing instead a more diffuse form of sovereignty that limits governmental power—not through a social contract or democracy—but by rooting supreme authority in the state itself. The sovereign power of the state, as conceived here, is tasked with limiting its own authority over the people. This reconciled notion remains attentive to the violence and problems of private power hierarchies while emphasizing individual autonomy and the necessity of checks and balances. It reframes inter-state relations as interactions between concrete, ethical persons, embedding treaties and alliances with deeper moral responsibility and obligation. Furthermore, it offers a foundation for addressing pressing issues such as sovereign debt, authoritarianism, populism, and elite capture of the state apparatus. This paper is significant because it defends a theory of limited government grounded not in popular sovereignty but in a reconciled notion of sovereignty that is both monolithic and superordinate, uniquely informed by Chinese political thought.

Author

• Qi Jing, University of California, Los Angeles