A groundbreaking volume from leading scholars exploring disability studies using a political theory approach.Bringing together prominent and newly emerging scholars in the fields of political theory and disability studies, this groundbreaking volume presents the first full-length book on political theory approaches to disability issues. Combining contemporary political theory with historical analysis, it will interest readers of political theory, disability studies, and related disciplines.Bringing together prominent and newly emerging scholars in the fields of political theory and disability studies, this groundbreaking volume presents the first full-length book on political theory approaches to disability issues. Combining contemporary political theory with historical analysis, it will interest readers of political theory, disability studies, and related disciplines.Though disability scholarship has been robust in history, philosophy, English, and sociology for decades, political theory and political science more generally have been slow to catch up. This groundbreaking volume presents the first full-length book on political theory approaches to disability issues. Barbara Arneil and Nancy J. Hirschmann bring together some of the leading scholars in political theory to provide a historical analysis of disability through the works of canonical figures, ranging from Hobbes and Locke to Kant, Rawls and Arendt, as well as an analysis of disability in contemporary political theory, examining key concepts, such as freedom, power and justice. Disability and Political Theory introduces a new disciplinary framework to disability studies, and provides a comprehensive introduction to a new topic of political theory.Foreword Deborah Stone; 1. Disability and political theory: an introduction Barbara Arneil and Nancy J. Hirschmann; 2. Disability in political theory versus international practice: redefining equality and freedom Barbara Arneil; 3. The ableist contract: intellectualƒ(