Understanding public policy as a special form of power rivalry between state and non-state actors reflects the complex interrelationships of open and latent technologies used by them. Along with legal methods of political interaction hidden from society (secreting state secrets, conducting confidential negotiations), latent tools are constantly used to promote the interests of large political investors, unknown to society and most often located outside the public space. However, their actual influence on the centers of state power and administration is inevitably reflected in the content of public policy, which is forced to use the conventional norms of open competition and public expression of positions to promote such interests. In its substantive expression, the latent functionality of public policy is formed within the framework of three social arenas emerging in the state: in the zones of contesting the power dispositions of the Center, making state decisions and organizing mass discourse. The specific forms of solving these hidden tasks are ultimately determined by the nature of the ruling regime and the level of civil activity of the population, its political competencies and ability to use institutional capabilities to control the ruling circles.