The influence of international policies on YAE in contexts of deprivation and liberty restriction: An analysis of Brazil and Chile
Plurais - Revista Multidisciplinar, Salvador, v. 8, n. 00, e023015, 2023. e-ISSN: 2177-5060
DOI: https://doi.org/10.29378/plurais.v8i00.19036 4
It refers, as discussed by Souza (2006, p. 26, our translation), to a "field of knowledge
that seeks, at the same time, to set the government in action and/or analyze this action, and
when necessary, propose changes in the direction or course of these actions." Thus, it is of
interest for the analysis of public policies to consider both their design and the parameters that
guide their decisions, conduct, and implementation, as this set also influences the inherent
conflicts in their deliberations. In other words, it helps answer questions such as "who gains
what, why, and what difference it makes" (Souza, 2006, p. 24, our translation).
According to Höfling (2001, p. 31, our translation), the concept of public policies
"cannot be reduced to that of state policies" but should be understood as the State undertaking
actions directed at specific sectors of society. This encompasses the "implementation and
maintenance from a decision-making process" involving various public agencies,
organizations, and agents of society.
Social policies are related to the mechanisms of social protection carried out by the state,
focused, in theory, on redistributing to reduce inequalities generated by socioeconomic
development. This notion of social policies arises from the "popular movements of the 19th
century, focused on conflicts between capital and labor, in the development of the first industrial
revolutions," as pointed out by Höfling (2001, p. 31, our translation). In this context, the role
of the neoliberal state in implementing social policies and programs is to "permanently qualify
the workforce for the market," as well as "keep under control segments of the population not
integrated into the productive process" (Höfling, 2001, p. 33, our translation).
The actions of the State in this dimension are attempts to regulate the "imbalances
generated by the development of capitalist accumulation" and, at the same time, are seen as
barriers to this development because they are considered causes of the "crisis that permeates
society" (Höfling, 2001, p. 37, our translation). Precisely for this reason, considering the Latin
American context, it has not been (and perhaps never will be) possible to "form political
coalitions capable of minimally addressing the design of public policies capable of driving
economic development and promoting social inclusion" (Souza, 2006, p. 21, our translation).
Under this understanding, the process of formulating public policies in our society
involves the incompatibility of interests, disputes, and power relations intrinsic to the structures,
state institutions, and society in general. The success or failure of a policy, as well as the
solutions adopted for "public intervention actions," need to consider cultural elements that
"historically construct differentiated processes of representations, acceptance, rejection, and
incorporation of social achievements" (Höfling, 2001, p. 38, our translation).