How did Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s idea of the general will influence popular sovereignty?

Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s concept of the general will was foundational to the development of popular sovereignty, shifting the source of political legitimacy from divinely sanctioned rulers to the collective body of citizens.12

In his work The Social Contract, Rousseau argued that legitimate government is only possible when it is subordinated to the general will—a collectively held will that aims at the common good. By participating in this will, citizens do not merely follow external laws but obey laws they have prescribed for themselves, thereby reconciling individual freedom with political authority.134

This idea transformed the understanding of sovereignty in several key ways:
* Legitimacy: Government loses its authority the moment it acts against the general will or places its own interests above the law.1
* Collective Identity: The state is viewed as an artificial person united by the general will, where citizens act in their capacity as members of the political community rather than as individuals with conflicting private interests.14
* Republicanism: The concept became a cornerstone of modern republican thought, famously influencing the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, which defined law as the expression of the general will.1