Considerations on citizen participation in the development of public policies: insights from a Habermasian perspective

The Habermasian theory has the potential to help understand government initiatives aimed at implementing actions in the public interest with social participation. It provides an epistemic framework for understanding the coherence, comprehensiveness, and sustainability of government decisions and actions. The objective of this analysis was to examine the fundamental concepts of Habermasian thought and its strengths in understanding public policies. Additionally, a proposed analytical framework of public policy with Habermasian categories is presented. A documentary-analytical methodology was used, involving the review, analysis, systematization, and interpretation of books, scientific articles, and theses related to the central themes of the study. The results indicate that the theory of communicative action, the notions of public sphere, and deliberative procedure enable the creation of mechanisms and spaces for debate and social participation in the management of public policies, legitimizing the normative system in a democratic rule of law. In conclusion, it is established that the use of analytical categories from Habermasian thought, when contextualized, contributes to the practice of social management in addressing public policy issues of collective interest.