Is the Honeymoon Over? Children and Young People's Participation in Public Decision-Making

Children and young people's participation in public decision-making is now firmly on international and national agendas. This article concludes the special issue on such participation, by discussing three central issues for children and young people's participation: what is counted-or discounted as legitimate forms of participation; the potential usefulness of theorisations of governance, citizenship and social capital; and how the roles of adults (participation workers) can be understood. The article celebrates the success of the rhetorical push for children and young people's participation, while suggesting that the tensions and dilemmas of current practice and policy need to be addressed by new and revitalised ideas and challenging theorisations.