Who held that "The notion of sovereignty must be expunged from political theory" ?

Question

Accepted Answer

The correct option is 4:
The quote, "The notion of sovereignty must be expunged from political theory," is attributed to the Dutch legal and political philosopher Hugo Krabbe (1857-1936). Krabbe is a significant figure in legal positivism, known for his work, *The Modern Idea of the State* (1915). Krabbe's central argument was a radical critique of traditional legal and political sovereignty. He rejected the classical theory of sovereignty, which located absolute authority either in a person (like a monarch) or an entity (like the state/legislature), arguing that such an idea was inconsistent with modern constitutional democracies. Instead, Krabbe proposed the concept of "legal sovereignty," where authority is derived solely from the Law itself, which is a product of the community’s shared moral and spiritual consciousness. He believed that the mystical and absolute nature of traditional sovereignty was dangerous and must be eliminated entirely ("expunged") from theoretical discussion, shifting the focus from power to legal competence.

The incorrect option is 1 (Lindsay):
A. D. Lindsay was a prominent British political theorist and a pluralist. While pluralists generally challenged the notion of monolithic, absolute state sovereignty by highlighting the autonomy of associations and groups within society, Lindsay's critique focused on distributing authority and recognizing multiple centers of power rather than demanding the concept be entirely expunged. He sought to reform and reinterpret the concept of state authority in light of voluntary associations, not eliminate it as strongly as Krabbe proposed.

The incorrect option is 2 (Barkar):
Ernest Barker, another influential British pluralist, like Lindsay, emphasized the importance of groups and associations and offered a critique of Austinian sovereignty. Barker's approach often involved balancing the state's legal authority with the moral authority of society and other institutions. However, he did not call for the expulsion of the notion of sovereignty altogether. His analysis was more about defining the proper scope and limits of state authority within a complex civil society, not abandoning the concept itself.

The incorrect option is 3 (H. J. Laski):
Harold J. Laski was one of the most famous pluralists who vehemently opposed the traditional theory of absolute state sovereignty, particularly in his earlier works. Laski argued that the state should be treated as one association among many and that individual allegiance should be earned, not commanded. While Laski was a fierce critic of absolute sovereignty, Krabbe's statement calling for the outright "expungement" of the concept is a more radical, specific formulation rooted in his theory of legal sovereignty, making Krabbe the correct source for the precise quote.