Sovereign Nation and Society in the Times of Gentry Democracy and Today – in the Light of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of April 2, 1997

This article attempts to compare the understanding and application of the concept of “nation”, de facto functioning in the era of “golden noble freedom” and under the regulations of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of April 2, 1997. During the analysis of the problem, the historical background of the implementation of democratic aspirations in the period from the 15th to the 18th century was presented. Eighteenth century, as well as reference to the contemporary rules of the political system (Democratic state ruled by law, Sovereignty of the nation). When com paring the results of the analysis and drawing conclusions, it was taken into account that genry democracy was born from the grassroots level, due to the need to liberate society from the king’s rule, and now it results from the implementation of the main idea of the system and the constitutional principle of a democratic state ruled by law. In the course of the analysis, the similarities and differences in the understanding of the analyzed concept and other concepts relating to the population inhabiting the territory of the state were taken into account. During the research, a comparative and historical analysis as well as a dogmatic-legal method were used, with particular emphasis on the axiology of the Polish Basic Law in the field of systemic norms.