Children’s rights and the “power” of power over

In this paper, I address the dearth of attention afforded to power theory in children’s rights discourse and growing concerns regarding the scale of children’s rights infringements across the globe. I break new ground in the children’s rights domain by uncoupling power from the “4P framework” and reframing the concept as an analytical tool for practitioners and researchers to utilise in their work with children. I suggest that “power over” according to Steven Lukes’s theory (1974) can highlight the overt and covert reasons underpinning a children’s rights infringement and enhance the recognition and implementation of children’s rights in practice. To demonstrate these functions, I apply Lukes’s thesis to the Adoption and Children (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations and present a model for those wishing to implement a “power over” approach to children’s rights in practice and/or in their research.