A society-centric approach to child rights governance in the EU context: how to strengthen the political presence and participation of children?

Looking beyond the legal approach of child rights governance (CRG) in the European Union (EU), this study contextualises a society-centric understanding of CRG concerning the sociological theory of childhood and new modes of governance as applied in the children’s rights sphere. By referring to the shortcomings and gaps in the legal perspective on CRG (e.g. tokenistic political participation by children, the dominant discourse on the protection of children versus empowerment, the legal fact that the EU cannot ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the implementation gap), the paper shows the subjective aspects of CRG while problematising children’s participation rights. Building on intersecting themes such as children’s lived citizenship and youthful political agency, the paper asks what theoretical references are needed for society-centric solutions to the shortcomings of the legal perspective addressed earlier.