Sovereignty and Government in Jean Bodin's Six Livres de la République (1576)

This article examines Bodin's distinction between sovereignty and government ("la police") in the Six Livres de la République (1576) in the intellectual context of the Wars of Religion, and argues that the terminology of "la police" requires investigation in order to clarify its meaning. It demonstrates how Bodin distinguished his understanding of political science from his contemporaries in explaining the relationship between administrative and sovereign power in such a way as to reinforce his concept of sovereignty.