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Is Neo‐Republicanism Bad for Women?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 March 2020

M. Victoria Costa
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Abstract

The republican revival in political philosophy, political theory, and legal theory has produced an impressive range of novel interpretations of the historical figures of the republican tradition. It has also given rise to a variety of contemporary neo‐republican theories that build on its historical themes. Although there have been some feminist discussions of its historical representatives, neo‐republicanism has not generated a great deal of enthusiasm among feminists. The present paper examines Phillip Pettit's theory of freedom as nondomination in order to assess its potential usefulness for those with feminist goals. It defends Pettit's account of interpersonal domination from certain feminist objections, but argues that his account of state domination needs to be amended if it is fully to protect the interests of women and other groups.

Type
Open Issue Content
Information
Hypatia , Volume 28 , Issue 4 , Fall 2013 , pp. 921 - 936
Copyright
Copyright © 2013 by Hypatia, Inc.

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Footnotes

I would like to thank Philip Pettit for guidance in interpreting his recent work, and María Julia Bertomeu, Joshua Gert, and two anonymous reviewers for comments on an earlier version of this paper.

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