Youth Governance and Public Policy: Assessing Institutional Capacity, Accountability and Participation

Abstract

Youth constitute a major demographic and social force, yet their participation in governance and public policy processes is unevenly distributed across institutional and political contexts. Young people are frequently identified as important stakeholders in democratic governance, but their participation tends to be limited to electoral participation, political campaigns, civic mobilization and informal social movements, as opposed to formal processes of policy formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. The article explores the relationship between youth governance and public policy, with a special emphasis on three interconnected dimensions: institutional capacity, accountability and participation. It argues for more than the mere numerical representation of young people in political and administrative institutions if there is to be meaningful youth participation. It demands institutional mechanisms that can convert youth participation into sustained policy inputs and measurable governance outcomes. The article builds a conceptual and analytical framework connecting institutional capacity with participatory opportunities, accountability mechanisms, policy responsiveness and public trust. Institutional capacity is measured in terms of administrative resources, organizational arrangements, policy expertise, digital infrastructure and the capacity of institutions to address youth-specific concerns. Accountability covers transparency, answerability, social accountability, grievance redressal, monitoring and feedback systems. Participation is classified into consultative, collaborative, representative and decision making. The article also finds that institutional fragmentation, tokenistic participation, poor representation, information asymmetry, weak feedback systems and limited policy integration are major obstacles to effective youth governance. It concludes that youth-oriented public policy should shift from a model of participation for youth to governance with youth, enhancing institutional channels for young citizens to influence policy priorities, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.