Abstract
Autore:
Bettinelli Ernesto
Titolo:
"Principio di sovranità e principio di coesione nella Costituzione italiana"
This analysis of the dialectic relation between sovereignty and cohesion in the events related to the history of the Italian Constitution starts as a search for an answer to the following questions: “What is a Constitution?”,
“What is its function in society?”. Deep significance is attributed to the original factor of “suffering” (which characterises moments of break-up with a past one wishes to leave behind, because of the disvalues that have torn social and political relationships apart) as the element which, in the long run, succeeds in giving meaning to the Constitution, perceived as a shared space for living together in community. Constitutions “born from suffering” can immediately be seen as sources of cohesion rather than of sovereignty.
Yet, such a significant aspect of the construction of a genuine community is not always nor readily appreciated. In Italy, an initial period, when the principle of “popular sovereignty” was overrated, has been followed by a gradual return to equilibrium between the two principles (perhaps the precious fruit of constituent unity). Instead of being welcomed with constructive favour by the political system, this has become a factor of institutional crisis in several respects.
