The paper takes the declarations of intent and arguments for participation made in the 1970s as a starting point for exploring changing perspectives on participation for poverty reduction over the last two decades. It explores the ways in which participation discourses dovetailed with and departed from mainstream development thinking, and examines the practices associated with ‘community participation’, ‘participatory development’ and ‘participation in development’ over this period. It tracks the emergence of anti-poverty and poverty reduction measures that sought, often through the instrumental use of participation, to give the poor a part in initiatives designed for their benefit. In doing so, it seeks to disentangle some of the meanings that have come to be associated with ‘participation’, ‘partnership’ and ‘empowerment’.