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In an era dominated by technocratic debates about efficiency, effectiveness and the economy, the fundamental purposes of public policy are too often left unquestioned. This narrow focus risks obscuring the democratic and redistributive aims that give state action its legitimacy.
Drawing on political philosophy and foundational public policy scholarship, this book offers a critical framework for analysing state action beyond the logic of the ‘3Es’. Through a sustained examination of social and economic policies in Mexico since the 1980s, it traces how neoliberal reforms, extractive institutions and limited forms of participation have shaped exclusionary outcomes. Its analytical toolkit applies to Global South contexts with colonial legacies, weak states and powerful oligarchies.
Written in clear, accessible language, this invaluable book reframes policy evaluation around the questions of what public policies are for and who they are meant to serve, and identifies alternative pathways towards truly inclusive and participatory democracy.
Preface to the English Edition
Introduction
Part 1: Towards Inclusive Democracy
1. Public Policies: Between Politics and Administration
2. Two Main Dimensions of Policy Analysis
3. From Citizen Participation to Participatory Democracy
4. Analytical and Normative Governance
5. Democracy, Development, and Political Participation
Part 2: Alternative Pathways in Mexico
6. Extractive Institutions and Internal Colonialism: The Limitations of Theory
7. Public Policy and Neoliberalism in Mexico
8. Public Policies in an Exclusionary Society
9. Redistributive Policies for an Inclusive Society: the Case of Labour Unions
Epilogue