Ian Bache and Matthew Flinders reflect on the value of multi‐level governance as both an analytical and normative concept. They suggest that the critical normative challenge is that of legitimacy in the context of multi‐level governance, which demands new means to connect citizens more effectively with the shifting locations of power. In analytical terms, they argue for a clear distinction to be made between multi‐level governance and multi‐level participation, where the latter notion signals greater involvement without effective influence for at least some types of new actors. Pursuing this line of reasoning, they suggest that they highlight the danger of multi‐level governance incorporating neo‐pluralist assumptions in relation to the location and fluidity of power that fail to address the continuing existence of underlying structural inequalities.