Formalizing Land Rights: Ethnographic Insights from Agropastoral Communities in Northern Benin

Abstract (English)

This study examines how diverse institutions, shaped by different historical trajectories, interact in land rights formalization within agropastoral communities. We document how these institutions influence the formalization process through their logic and strategic approaches. By analyzing the interplay of relation, power, and knowledge, as well as the agency of actors, we aim to understand how the formalization of land rights affects land tenure in/security. This contribution is based on ethnographic fieldwork, including participant observation (visits to farms and homes of study groups), conversations, interviews with state and non-state institutions, and involvement in land measurement and parcelling activities. We employ network analysis to assess the relationships among actors and complexities that shape and are shaped by the formalization process. The findings reveal that state and non-state institutions interact within an interconnected framework, mutually reinforcing each other in land rights formalization. Local actors strategically select which institutions to legitimize their land claims, often leveraging kinship networks, family ties, and religious affiliations to strengthen their positions. In contrast, communities lacking this shared sociocultural capital tend to have weaker institutional support, which makes their land claims more vulnerable. Moreover, local strategies and indigenous knowledge are often employed to complement state institutions' administrative technologies, particularly when the latter proves inadequate. These findings raise critical concerns about how institutional frameworks address land rights, particularly in pluralistic systems where state and non-state institutions interact. The interactions and power imbalances within these frameworks create gaps in responsibility, resulting in unequal outcomes in land tenure rights.