Political Science and Governance: Citizen Participation and Rebuilding Trust in the State

The study aimed to interpret how citizen participation mechanisms contribute to rebuilding public trust in the Peruvian state, considering how citizens evaluate transparency, institutional legitimacy, and state responsiveness. A qualitative approach with an explanatory-interpretive scope was developed, based on a phenomenological-hermeneutic method, and included 4124 participants selected through purposive sampling, whose semi-structured interviews were analyzed through open and axial coding in Atlas.ti v23. The results showed that public trust is mainly shaped by the perceived consistency between institutional discourse and action, clarity of information, accessibility of services, ethical conduct of officials, and responsiveness to social demands. Likewise, it was identified that citizen participation is valued positively when it produces verifiable results, feedback, and continuity, while it is perceived as symbolic when it does not influence decision-making, there is one-way communication, or bureaucratic and technological barriers persist. In conclusion, the study shows that public trust is rebuilt when institutions guarantee transparency, clear communication, and participatory mechanisms with real impact, shaping governance oriented toward openness, shared responsibility, and democratic legitimacy.