<![CDATA[Popular sovereignty constitutes a fundamental principle in Indonesia's constitutional system as affirmed in Article 1 paragraph (2) of the 1945 Constitution. However, in the practice of the presidential system, the will of the people never manifests directly as it is always mediated through institutions and representative procedures. This research aims to analyze whether the principle of popular sovereignty in Indonesia's presidential system still functions as an operational basis for the exercise of state power or has shifted into a legal fiction. This is normative legal research employing a conceptual approach, analyzed using the theoretical framework of legal fiction developed by Vaihinger, Fuller, Kelsen, and Allison. The findings reveal that popular sovereignty has not lost its constitutional position, but in practice has undergone a functional shift into a legal fiction due to the weakening of representative mechanisms, oversight, and constitutional accountability. This transformation is reflected in the shifting function of popular sovereignty from a principle that guides state decision-making into a normative construct that primarily preserves the legitimacy and coherence of the constitutional system.]]>
Copyrights © 2026
