Politics of Deception

Youth Political Participation in an Age of Global Crises

Inbunden, Engelska, 2026

3 439 kr

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In a time of global crises, governments, international agencies and various experts claim to promote political participation that is inclusive of children and young people. This book details how these claims tend to be deceptive.The Politics of Deception demonstrates how youth parliaments, youth councils and youth roundtables are governance exercises not just designed and tightly managed by adults but limited by them. Informed by adultist ways of seeing, young people are represented as vulnerable and citizens-in-waiting and cannot be taken seriously as political agents. Parallel to these formal initiatives, large numbers of young people are recognising the interconnected nature of the crises that mark our time, mobilising politically in diverse ways, from street marches to digital action, to strategic litigation and even ‘lying flats’ to push for equality, social justice and planetary survival. Animated by optimism and recognition that intergenerational solidarity is essential for creating a future in which humans and ‘more-than humans’ can flourish, Judith Bessant and Rob Watts illustrate how youth participation, as it is commonly practised, is deeply political, deceptive, highly contested and too often informed by outdated and harmful representations of young people.This volume is for young people, researchers, policymakers, parents and educators wanting to better understand what is happening in the world and who appreciate the value of recognising young people’s political capacity and right to help shape the world.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2026-09-02
Mått156 x 234 x undefined mm
Vikt453 g
FormatInbunden
SpråkEngelska
Antal sidor328
FörlagTaylor & Francis Ltd
ISBN9780367352776

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Judith Bessant AM, FASSA, is a Distinguished Professor at RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia. Her research is positioned in the intersections between youth studies, sociology, politics, history, technology-media studies, planetary and public health and youth participation.Rob Watts FASSA, is Professor of Social Policy, RMIT University, Australia where he teaches politics, social theory and policy studies. He has published widely on young people, social movements and climate change, human rights, and state crime.

1. Introduction: Being political and youth participation; 2. Deception and youth participation: A heuristic; 3. The democratic crisis: The theory and practice of youth participation; 4. Democracy is no place for ‘the people’: What political theorists say about citizen participation; 5. International development and youth participation: Myth and reality; 6. ‘In your dreams’: Australian case studies of youth participation and government policy; 7. What young people are doing: Political participation by young people in a time of crises; 8. Children and young people’s strategic climate litigation; 9. Children and Lowering the Voting Age: Democracy and youth participation; 10 ‘Children of the Anthropocene’: A post-anthropocentric ontology and young people’s politics; 11. Epilogue: Protocols for youth participation beyond the governance model

“This inspiring book combines theoretical depth with practical concreteness to lay out a trenchant critique of the structures that block youth political participation in today’s world and to imagine what it would take to create a more youth-inclusive future.”John Wall, Rutgers University, Department of Childhood Studies“An informed and detailed critique of ineffective and deceptive ‘youth participation’ programmes – contrasted with a whole realm of unofficial youth engagement, activism and dissent. A carefully-reasoned and troubling book, important not only for youth policy but for all concerned with the future of democracy.”Raewyn Connell, Professor Emerita, University of Sydney, Australia“As head of an organisation led by younger Australians, I see policymakers’ advocacy for youth participation is a superficial commitment which fails to translate into genuine participation. This timely book documents how and why authentic youth political participation is critical for restoring trust in our fading institutions.”Thomas Walker, CEO of Think Forward, a policy organisation founded and run by younger Australians“The Politics of Deception recognises that something is ‘not right’ with the constant celebration of youth political participation. This straight talking and hard-hitting book reveals how high-minded claims of political projects having been led by and for youth turn out, on closer inspection, to be something else altogether.Stuart Tannock, Associate Professor UCL Insitute of Education