Bridging gaps around public policy

The “Programa Familias” case in Chile

Abstract

The Anthropology of the State is currently facing the important challenge of contributing in a renewed way to the knowledge of contemporary complex societies. Nowadays, a specific focus of this field is the study of public policies, from which we try to account for the forms and contents of the governmentality of the State. The main objective of this article is to contribute to the discussion of some gaps identified in the current developments of this approach, taking as an empirical reference the analysis of the Programa Familias in Chile. As a result, theoretical-methodological and applied reflections are proposed, inspired by the actor-network theory. The article concludes promoting the strengthening of this approach, especially necessary in the current context of transformations that affect the traditional figure of the State in Latin America.