Abstract
The article presents a brief reflection on how to perceive and work with basic concepts of constitutional theory, such as the concept of sovereignty, power, people, democracy or the rule of law. It is based on a conceptualization that considers the concepts to be autonomous language objects with a unique etymological and cultural-historical givenness.
In their meaning the article distinguishes the designation of an anthropologically universal fact from a specific and unique political-cultural purpose of the concept. It also deals with the characteristics of these theoretical concepts, in terms of their ideal type and polemical nature.
Finally, it distinguishes their two main functions, namely the descriptive function and the constructive function. All of the mentioned is illustrated with the concept of sovereignty as constructed by Jean Bodin.