The roles of participatory institutions in structuring public policies in Brazil

Abstract:

Based on an approach that emphasizes the mutual constitution between political-relational and technical-administrative capacities, this article explores the roles of Participatory Institutions (PIs) in the policy construction and change in Brazil. Based on six policy areas, we propose the following typology of roles to understand variation in the effect of PI on policy institutionalization: reform, foundation or episodic/contingent roles. We argue that the combined action of three factors - pre-existing technical and administrative capacities, political opportunities and of the characteristics of policy communities - helps to understand the variation.

Keywords:
Participatory institutions; Public policies; Institutionalization; State capacities