Sovereignty indicates self-rule – autonomy. The possibility to make your own laws, to become your own master: The source of authority and certainty, of security and power, of necessity and constancy. Whose action is forever relevant and current and long lasting. Whose word is an action, whose action is law, who decides and determines fates.

Sovereignty indicates the shift of the discussion of the action’s value from the theological/moral space to theearthly/civic space: The human. Pondering the ways of organizing action subjected to (God’s) commandment versus organizing action in relation to prohibition (by law).

A space that places action along the spectrum between desire and pleasure, transgression and submission, control and surrender. A space where meaning and understanding, value and importance, shame and responsibility are determined. A space where the boundaries of life and death are determined.

The sovereign’s action reverberates through time and space; through the actions of future generations; through the fate of the public and the race. The sovereign is like the “father of the family” – under whose name generations and actions gather. Who offers purpose and vision. Whose action organizes everyday life in the hope for a better future. The sovereign has to foster just as he has to sacrifice, protect and attack, embrace and push away, be loyal and betray – for the common good, from a commitment to a common fate.

The purpose of sovereignty is nothing but the production of a set of values as a space and territory for a meaningful life. An heir is born. A dynasty starts. A tradition is formed.

“Do not be cowardly towards your actions! Do not abandon them after the event!” (Twilight of the Idols, Nietzsche)