The emergence of a new subject of citizenship? Theoretical contributions to the contemporary debate on children’s rights

Abstract

This article discusses the concept of children’s citizenship. Using an analytical approach, it seeks to establish a theoretical and epistemological framework in order to gain insight into the different perspectives that ideologically and philosophically support this concept and which are, at the same time, involved in the debates on the nature of children’s rights in democratic societies. To do so, we review contemporary discussions about the citizenship concept, and systematize and organize the socio-scientific literature produced from the 1980s onwards. The article concludes with an assessment of the implications and impacts of these theoretical approaches on the re-conceptualization of the child as citizen.