What principle is established by the idea that power is created by the will of the people?

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The principle established by the idea that power is created by the will of the people is known as popular sovereignty. This concept indicates that the authority of a government is derived from the consent of the governed, emphasizing that the legitimacy of political power rests in the hands of the people. In essence, popular sovereignty is foundational to democratic systems, where the public has the right to influence and determine how they are governed through processes such as voting and public participation.

This principle played a crucial role in the formation of various democratic governments and movements throughout history, reinforcing the belief that the government should reflect the collective will and interests of its citizens. While concepts like democratic governance and equal representation are related and integral to functioning democracies, they rely on the underlying principle of popular sovereignty, which emphasizes the source of that power as originating from the populace itself.

A constitutional monarchy, on the other hand, represents a system where a monarch's powers are restricted by a constitution or laws, but this does not inherently relate to the source of power being the people. Thus, popular sovereignty accurately encapsulates the idea that the authority of government arises directly from the will of its constituents.

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