The concept of vulnerability and the political inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities

Electoral system reforms in liberal democracies have allowed people with intellectual disabilities, historically stripped of their citizenship, to exercise their political rights. Inspired by the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, many national governments have extended the principle of the universal right to vote to persons with intellectual disabilities, despite some institutional resistance. Different approaches in ethics and political theory have offered justifications for these electoral reforms, but they are divided on the question of the skills required for the exercise of political rights and the constraints imposed by the intellectual abilities of certain people. The concept of vulnerability developed by Martha Fineman approaches the question differently by emphasizing the relational and collaborative dimensions of the citizenship institution. (C) 2019 Association ALTER. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.