Is ‘Participation’ As It is Described by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) the Key to Children’s Citizenship?

What is actually intended by the term ‘participation’ as it is described by the UNCRC? Since it excludes economic and political rights, it goes only a single step toward integrating children into civil society as bearers of full rights who share the duties and responsibilities that are often considered central to citizenship. This essay briefly examines a range of ideas that include philosophical and social scientific theories that have contributed to the notion of the adult citizen and may hold the key to an exploration of the possibility of children’s rights being the means by which they may eventually gain access to full citizenship.