The Division of Power Processes and the Concept of Sovereignty in early Democratic Denmark and France

The general aim of this PhD project is to investigate the eventual transformation of the concept of sovereignty in the democratic political systems of the traditionally highly centralized states of Denmark and France. The historical point of departure is the 19th century juncture between monarchic and democratic politics, i.e. between absolutistic sovereignty and popular sovereignty. I intend to pursue a working hypothesis stating that the division of power processes that are internal to the national political systems alter the status of the concept of sovereignty in external political communication. Theoretically the project departs from a concept of rationality of differentiation derived from sociological systems theory in a Luhmannian draft, whereas the empirical analysis of the concept of sovereignty will focus on the cases of (1) territorial dispute with Germany 1864/1871, (2) the debates on participation in the League of Nations after WW1 and (3) the pre-EU-debates in the 1950's leading up to the Treaty of Rome.