EL BICAMERALISMO EN EL SIGLO XXI. LOS ÚLTIMOS DEBATES SOBRE EL SENADO EN EL DERECHO COMPARADO

From the moment that liberal revolutions attributed sovereign power to the nation and constituted representative government as the only way to organize the exercise of political power, bicameralism and, in particular, the Senate will become a much discussed institution in comparative law. The extension of suffrage and the assumption of the democratic principle of popular sovereignty will further enhance the contradiction between the single popular will and its double expression. According to this idea, the twentieth century has shown a clear downward trend of bicameralism in the unitary states; not so in federal states. This paper analyzes the trend of bicameralism at the beginning of the 21st century, as well as the most recent debates around the Senate in both unitary and federal states. We will see how, despite the initial impression, the reduction of Senate power is widespread in contemporary democracies.