Justice, gender and international boundaries

Abstract

Idealized conceptions of boundaries are common in discussions of sovereignty and states; idealized conceptions of autonomy and independence in discussions of women’s issues. The problem in each case is not as is often alleged abstraction (which is unavoidable) but reliance on fictitious premisses. These are avoidable, and avoiding them would improve discussions in both domains. Throughout the case of poor women in vulnerable economies is used as a test case for various theoretical positions.