Juvenocracy/Juvenocratic Spaces

Juvenocracy, which occurs when children and youth govern adults, has been academically developed and extended as a concept since the early 1970s. Since that time, scholarly thought has moved away from static modernistic attributions of power to focus more on how power relations are negotiated and unfold. While early conceptualizations of juvenocracy rest on assumptions about existing structures, later theorizing rests on an affirmation of contingency. With this shift, [Page 1029]studies of juvenocracy have come to address broader aspects of child and youth authority in adolescence processes and intergenerational relations, also conceptualised as ‘juvenocratic spaces’. This entry defines juvenocracy, explores the status of child under juvenocracy, examines related initiatives (e.g., children as entrepreneurs), and finally, considers both the positive and negative implications of juvenocracy.