Decoupling Generational Sovereignty: The Cross-Temporal Role of the Sovereign People

Abstract This article examines the viability of framing intergenerational power asymmetries in terms of sovereignty, particularly in non-overlapping contexts. It is divided into four parts. First, it surveys the different dimensions of sovereignty, focusing in particular on absoluteness, self-justification, and perpetuity. Second, it applies these dimensions to the concept of generation within constitutional theory. From the perspective of McTaggart’s A-series of time, this analysis shows that intermediate generations do not satisfy the criteria for sovereignty, thereby raising questions about the asymmetric distribution of power in relation to the founding generation. Third, the article adopts McTaggart’s B-series of time and examines fully constituent generations (such as the generation responsible for establishing the first historical constitution), concluding that the concept of sovereignty remains inapplicable. Finally, it considers the conceptual and normative implications of this conclusion. It examines the consequences of simply replacing sovereignty with related concepts (such as independence) in discussions of generations, as well as the possibility of reconciling sovereignty with limits on the power exercised by each generation. Such a reconciliation may draw on arguments from intergenerational justice and political liberalism, but ultimately depends primarily on an argument from cross-temporal popular sovereignty.