The people power and popular sovereignty in domestic and foreign constitutional law

Abstract

The article examines the essence and legal content of the principle of people power in the constitutional law of Russia and foreign states. The constitutional principle of popular sovereignty as a legal concept, in which the interrelated components are politics and law, is the basis of legitimization of state power and constitutional order from the moment of their formation. This principle is the fundamental basis of modern democratic states, enshrining the supremacy of the power of the people as a source of legitimacy of political governance. The analysis focuses on the correlation of representative and direct democracy, as well as the mechanisms of their realization through electoral procedures, referendums and systems of public control. The general tendencies and national peculiarities of the consolidation of people power and popular sovereignty in the constitutional-legal systems of different states are revealed. The conclusion about the critical role of interaction between civil society and public institutions in the process of realization of the people power as a fundamental basis of constitutional order is substantiated.