Definition

• Dictionaries define popular sovereignty as a political doctrine that invests sovereign power in the people to mandate and direct the government. Popular sovereignty dictates that the people choose their government and appoint their officials as trustees to carry out the will of the majority. This means the people will choose for themselves their own style of government as well, allowing almost any type of government to implement a doctrine of political sovereignty.
  
  

The Importance of Trust

• Trust is the foundation in which popular sovereignty rests upon. The elected government trusts that as long as it carries out the will of the people, it will retain power. The people trust that the government elected will use its vested power to take care of and implement the will of the majority. However, if the government does not exercise its power appropriately, rebellions may occur. For example, if a Muslim society prefers a theocracy in accordance with the principles of Islam, but the trusted government decides to implement a democracy instead, this will create tensions and backlash within the society toward the government.
  
  

American History and Popular Sovereignty

• The United States was founded on the principles of popular sovereignty. The basic premise of the American Revolution and the formation of government was that the people had a right to self-determination. At the time this was known as a collective sovereignty, which departed from the European notion of popular sovereignty that rests with royalty. Popular sovereignty also left its mark leading up to the Civil War, in which some felt the term applied to each state or territory deciding for itself whether or not to allow slavery by a popular vote.
  
  

Sovereign Citizen Movement

• Popular sovereignty in modern times has undergone extreme interpretations, such as that of the sovereign citizen movement in the United States. Individuals subscribing to the doctrine postulate that sovereignty lies with the individual and thus are free from federal government interference. The Federal Bureau of Investigation classifies the group as an extremist organization. citing criminal activities and anti-government views. Examples include refusing to pay taxes, targeting judges and law enforcement officials through harassment and committing white collar crimes.