Whether endemic or overt, conflict is an intrinsic part of policymaking. Public participation promises to give a place to those conflicts in a more inclusive and productive way. Previous research has primarily focused on the substance and discourse of conflict, studying what conflicts are about and how actors give meaning to conflicts. Less attention has been given to how conflicts are enacted and performed when citizens and the state meet. Using a dramaturgical approach, this paper explores how the performances, staging practices, and scenography of public participation influence policy conflicts. The research concentrates on two contentious urban projects in the Belgian city of Genk, employing ethnographic observation of participatory moments to expose the performative elements of participation. The analysis uncovers the artifacts and communicative methods that narrow the conflict scope, determine the micro-politics of the participatory meetings, and influence whose voices are heard. Using a dramaturgical analysis framework sheds light on some underexplored, micro-level dynamics of participatory efforts that may limit the scope of policy conflict. Understanding these micro-mechanisms is essential for a more inclusive and equitable urban transformation policy.

无论是地方性的还是公开的，冲突都是政策制定的内在组成部分。公众参与有望以更具包容性和富有成效的方式为这些冲突提供一席之地。以前的研究主要集中在冲突的实质和话语上，研究冲突是什么以及行为者如何赋予冲突意义。当公民和国家相遇时，冲突是如何制定和执行的，则很少受到关注。本文使用戏剧学方法，探讨了公众参与的表演、舞台实践和场景设计如何影响政策冲突。该研究集中在比利时亨克市的两个有争议的城市项目上，采用对参与性时刻的民族志观察来揭示参与的表演元素。该分析揭示了缩小冲突范围、决定参与式会议的微观政治并影响谁的声音被听到的伪影和交际方法。使用戏剧分析框架可以揭示一些未被充分探索的微观参与性努力动态，这些动态可能会限制政策冲突的范围。了解这些微观机制对于制定更具包容性和公平性的城市转型政策至关重要。