Resumen de Sovereignty and direct democracy: : Lessons from Constant and the Belgian Constitution

Raf Geenens, Stefan Sottiaux

• Interpretations of sovereignty in the Belgian Constitution - The 'national sovereignty' interpretation - Dismantling the myth of the consensual understanding of sovereignty in the Belgian Constitution - Benjamin Constant's understanding of sovereignty - Influence of the paradigm of French post-Revolutionary political liberalism -- Implications of the 'Constantian' interpretation with regard to more direct modes of citizen participation - Arguments for reconsidering the settled case-law of the Council of State regarding the unconstitutionality of referendums