Carole Pateman is one of the leading political theorists writing today. This wide-ranging volume brings together for the first time a selection of her work on democratic theory and her feminist critique of mainstream political theory. The volume includes substantial discussions on questions of democracy and citizenship, including the construction of the concept of the political and complex, but largely unrecognized, problems surrounding women's participation and consent, and their relation to the social contract tradition. This work should be of interest to students and researchers in political theory, women's studies and sociology.

Carole Pateman is a feminist and political theorist. She is known as a critic of liberal democracy and has been a member of the British Academy since 2007.