In this paper I attempt to reconstruct the semantics of popular sovereignty from the perspective of systems theory, exploring its relation to the differentiation process between law and politics in modern society. After delineating the changing landscape of governance in the process of the transnationalization of power and law over recent decades, I turn to the concepts of Empire and Multitude proposed by Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri, attempting to make sense of them from a sociological standpoint. Ultimately the emerging semantics of Empire would appear to be symptomatic of structural changes in the political system of modern society.
Systems theory; Political system; Transnationalization; Empire; Post-Democracy