Thomas Hobbes, or the invention of the sovereign-representative

Abstract

The objective of this article is to show that the relationship between representation and sovereignty in Thomas Hobbes is original in that it does not consider representation only as a proxy, but also in defending the union between representation and sovereignty as a necessary condition for the exercise of political power. To this finality, the article compares Hobbesian theory with theories of representation from the Middle Ages, pointing out the possible interference of these theories in Hobbesian theory, but also the English philosopher's distance from them.