Abstract
In democratic societies, participation is inseparably connected with the positive normative concept of justice. It is widely assumed that the struggles for recognition (Honneth) which have led to the emergence of modern democracies have been completed by the institutionalization of constitutional welfare states, thus establishing and securing social rules based on the value of justice. However, there is evidence that institutionalized forms of youth participation neglect existing social conflicts and hide inequalities of power, resources and recognition. The chapter starts from the question if and in what sense young people’s learning of participation is structured by social conflict. What experiences of recognition or misrecognition of their actions in public space and the underlying aspirations of being a part of society do they make in their biographies? The chapter analyses situations observed in the framework of ethnographic case studies. In some of these situations, young people are acting out conflicts openly, in others potential conflicts are tamed institutionally, while others stand for young people avoiding conflict. Analysis reveals that young people’s practices express ideas of justice and aspirations of being and taking part of/in society but lead to differing experiences – according to institutional contexts and social positioning. The chapter concludes by suggesting that conflicts need to be seen as an integrative element rather than an exception of democratic participation. Rather than educating young people towards avoiding conflicts, democracy education may start from reflecting that and what young people – by being involved in conflicts in public space – learn about democracy and participation.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
- 1.
Standing for ‘hanging out’.
References
Ahrens, S., & Wimmer, M. (2014). Das Demokratieversprechen des Partizipationsdiskurses. In A. Schäfer (Hrsg.), Hegemonie und autorisierende Verführung. Zum Verhältnis von Politischem und Pädagogischem (S. 175–200). Schöningh.
Arendt, H. (1958). The human condition. Chicago University Press.
Batsleer, J., Walther, A., & Lüküslü, D. (2020). Struggle over participation: Towards a grounded theory of youth participation. In A. Walther, J. Batsleer, P. Loncle, & A. Pohl (Eds.), Young people and the struggle of participation. Contested practices, power and pedagogies in public spaces (pp. 199–219). Routledge.
Bitzan, M., & Klöck, T. (1993). ‘Wer streitet denn mit Aschenputtel?’. Konfliktorientierung und Geschlechterdifferenz – eine Chance zur Politisierung Sozialer Arbeit. SPAK.
BMFSFJ (Bundesministerium für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend). (2017). 15. Kinder- und Jugendbericht. BMFSFJ.
Böhnisch, L., & Schröer, W. (2016). Social work – A problem-oriented introduction. De Gruyter.
Butler, J. (2015). Notes towards a performative theory of assembly. Harvard University Press.
Coser, L. (1956). The functions of social conflict. The Free Press.
Dahrendorf, R. (1988). The modern social conflict: An essay on the politics of liberty. Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
de Certeau, M. (1984). The practice of everyday life. University of California Press.
European Commission. (2009). An EU strategy for youth – Investing and empowering. A renewed open method of coordination to address youth challenges and opportunities. European Commission.
Galtung, J. (1969). Violence, peace, and peace research. Journal of Peace Research, 6(3), 167–191.
Gronemeyer, R. (1974). Leerstellen der Konfliktsoziologie: zum konflikttheoretischen Bezugsrahmen für Gemeinwesenarbeit. In H. E. Bahr & R. Gronemeyer (Hrsg.), Konfliktorientierte Gemeinwesenarbeit – Niederlagen und Modelle (S. 46–74). Luchterhand.
Hall, T., Coffey, A., & Williamson, A. (1999). Self, space and place: Youth identities and citizenship. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 20(4), 501–513.
Honneth, A. (1995). Struggle for recognition. The moral grammar of social conflicts. Polity Press.
Honneth, A. (2003). Redistribution as recognition. A response to Nancy Fraser. In N. Fraser/A. Honneth (Eds.), Redistribution or recognition? A political-philosophical exchange. Verso, pp. 110–198.
Isin, E., & Wood, P. (1999). Citizenship and identity. Sage.
Keupp, H., Ahbe, T., Gmür, W., Höfer, R., Mitzscherlich, B., Kraus, W., & Straus, F. (1999). Identitätskonstruktionen. Das Patchwork der Identitäten in der Spätmoderne. Rowohlt.
Laclau, E., & Mouffe, C. (2001). Hegemony and socialist strategy. Towards a radical democratic politics (2nd ed.). Verso.
Loncle, P., Cuconato, M., Muniglia, V., & Walther, A. (Eds.). (2012). Youth participation in Europe. Beyond discourses, practices and realities. Policy Press.
Lüküslü, D., Pais, A., Tuorto, D., & Walther, A. (2020). “This is a compressed political system.” Ambivalences of formal youth participation. In A. Walther, J. Batsleer, P. Loncle, & A. Pohl (Eds.), Young people and the he struggle of participation. Contested practices, power and pedagogies in public spaces (pp. 67–82). Routledge.
Miller, D. (1999). Principles of social justice. Harvard University Press.
Mouffe, C. (2018). For a left-wing populism. Verso.
Nunner-Winkler, G., Meyer-Nikele, M., & Wohlrab, D. (2006). Integration durch Moral. Moralische Motivation und Ziviltugenden Jugendlicher. Springer.
Pais, J. M. (2008). Young people, citizenship and leisure. In R. Bendit & M. Hahn-Bleibtreu (Eds.), Youth transitions. Process of social inclusion and patterns of vulnerability in a globalised world (pp. 153–179). Budrich.
Parsons, T. (1937). The structure of social action. Free Press.
Rancière, J. (1999). Disagreement. Politics and philosophy. University of Minnesota Press.
Sitzer, P. (2010). Entwicklungspfade der Gewalttätigkeit männlicher Jugendlicher aus anerkennungstheoretischer Perspektive. Soziale Passagen, 2(2), 183–196.
Sutterlüty, F. (2017). Riots: Jugendlicher Protest gegen die Verletzung staatsbürgerlicher Ansprüche? In W. Kühnel & H. Willems (Eds.), Politisches Engagement im Jugendalter. Zwischen Beteiligung, Protest und Gewalt (pp. 196–220). Beltz Juventa.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
von Schwanenflügel, L., Walther, A. (2022). Learning to Participate in and Through Conflict. In: Bečević, Z., Andersson, B. (eds) Youth Participation and Learning. Young People and Learning Processes in School and Everyday Life, vol 7. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-92514-7_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-92514-7_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-92513-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-92514-7
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)