Interview with Carole Pateman: "The Sexual Contract," Women in Politics, Globalization and Citizenship

In an interview, Carole Pateman discusses her thoughts on the sexual contract; women's participation in politics; & the connection between globalization, employment, & citizenship. Pateman's contention that the notion of the contract provides a superior theoretical framework for understanding historical male-female relations in Western societies than the notions of patriarchy or fraternity is discussed. The need to contemplate the relationship between racial, gender-based, & class-based contracts & the capacity of feminist scholars to participate within the Western political science community are examined. Criticisms of Klein's understanding of the sexual contract offered by Nancy Fraser & Chantal Mouffe are subsequently addressed. The issues regarding why women in Nordic countries have realized greater success in obtaining positions of political leadership than in other Western nations & whether women politicians should directly challenge political structures & institutions that historically have privileged male authority are then pondered. The need to disassociate employment from current understandings of citizenship & to apply democratic thinking to corporations is articulated. The possibility that globalization processes will produce substantial social, economic, & political change is met with slight optimism; future research is encouraged to study the international explosion of the sex industry & trade in small arms. J. W. Parker