ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the world that provides the theoretical context for discussion of sovereignty is that of constitutional pluralism. A working definition of sovereignty is introduced as a way of responding to some of the more insistent general objections that have been levelled against the concept. The chapter explains the debate over sovereignty is resituated in the context of the shift to a post-Westphalian order and the emergence of post-state polities such as the European Union. It describes the ways in which various strands of constitutional scholarship, and the political positions associated with these strands, have treated sovereignty in the context of the emergence of the European Union are briefly assessed and subjected to critical scrutiny. Constitutional pluralism stands beyond the perspective of any particular system in order to conceive of sovereignty in terms of a plurality of unities and in terms of the emergent possibilities of the relationships amongst this plurality of unities.
