Sovereign Encounters

Professor Joel Colón-Ríos discusses the concept of sovereignty and how constitutions can serve as instruments of popular self-rule.

Nowadays, the concept of sovereignty is at best seen as outdated and, at worst, as a key component of the political rhetoric of authoritarian regimes.

In this inaugural lecture, Professor Joel Colón-Ríos argues that the concept of sovereignty is nonetheless crucial to understanding one of the main questions of constitutional theory: how can constitutions serve as instruments of popular self-rule, allowing a community to govern itself anyway it wants and, at the same time, function as mechanisms for the limitation of political power?

Through the lecture, Professor Colón-Ríos reflects on the different ‘encounters’ with the concept of sovereignty through his academic work.

Three academics wearing formal gowns on the stairs of the Old Government building, from left to right Professor Mark Hickford, Professor Joel Colón-Ríos and Acting Vice-Chancellor Professor Jennifer Windsor. — Inaugural lecture (left to right): Professor Mark Hickford, Professor Joel Colón-Ríos, and Acting Vice-Chancellor Professor Jennifer Windsor.

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