Editing Sovereignty (section)

===Reformation===
Sovereignty reemerged as a concept in the late 16th century, a time when civil wars had created a craving for a stronger central authority when monarchs had begun to gather power onto their own hands at the expense of the nobility, and the modern [[nation state]] was emerging. [[Jean Bodin]], partly in reaction to the chaos of the [[French wars of religion]], presented theories of sovereignty calling for a strong central authority in the form of [[absolute monarchy]]. In his 1576 treatise ''[[Jean Bodin#Les Six Livres de la République|Les Six Livres de la République]]'' ("Six Books of the Republic") Bodin argued that it is inherent in the nature of the [[State (politics)|state]] that sovereignty must be:<ref name="Britannica"/>
* Absolute: On this point, he said that the sovereign must be hedged in with obligations and conditions, must be able to legislate without his (or its) subjects' consent, must not be bound by the laws of his predecessors, and could not, because it is illogical, be bound by his own laws.
* Perpetual: Not temporarily delegated as to a strong leader in an emergency or a state employee such as a [[magistrate]]. He held that sovereignty must be perpetual because anyone with the power to enforce a time limit on the governing power must be above the governing power, which would be impossible if the governing power is absolute.

The treatise is frequently viewed as the first European text theorizing state sovereignty.<ref name=":Laikwan">{{Cite book |last=Laikwan |first=Pang |title=One and All: The Logic of Chinese Sovereignty |date=2024 |publisher=[[Stanford University Press]] |isbn=9781503638815 |location=Stanford, CA |pages=9}}</ref>

Bodin rejected the notion of transference of sovereignty from people to the ruler (also known as ''the sovereign''); natural law and divine law confer upon the sovereign the right to rule. And the sovereign is not above divine law or natural law. He is above (''i.e.'' not bound by) only [[positive law]], that is, laws made by humans. He emphasized that a sovereign is bound to observe certain basic rules derived from the divine law, the law of nature or reason, and the law that is common to all nations (jus gentium), as well as the fundamental laws of the state that determine who is the sovereign, who succeeds to sovereignty, and what limits the sovereign power. Thus, Bodin's sovereign was restricted by the constitutional law of the state and by the higher law that was considered as binding upon every human being.<ref name="Britannica" /> The fact that the sovereign must obey divine and natural law imposes ethical constraints on him. Bodin also held that the ''lois royales'', the fundamental laws of the French monarchy which regulated matters such as succession, are natural laws and are binding on the French sovereign.

Despite his commitment to absolutism, Bodin held some moderate opinions on how government should in practice be carried out. He held that although the sovereign is not obliged to, it is advisable for him, as a practical expedient, to convene a [[senate]] from whom he can obtain advice, to delegate some power to magistrates for the practical administration of the law, and to use the [[Estates of the realm|Estates]] as a means of communicating with the people.{{Citation needed|date=January 2011}} Bodin believed that "the most divine, most excellent, and the state form most proper to royalty is governed partly aristocratically and partly democratically".<ref>Bodin, Six livres, 6:254 (VI:vi).</ref>