ELEMENTS FOR A REDESIGN OF DECENTRALIZATION IN BENIN

Initiated in Benin in the 2000s, decentralization has emerged as a major pillar of institutional reforms aimed at bringing the administration closer to citizens and strengthening local governance. However, its evaluation reveals persistent challenges that call for an overhaul of the current model. This research is approached from the perspective of the sociology of public action and social change theory. It draws on a review of the literature and empirical data to offer a critical reading of institutional mechanisms and processes of social transformation, highlighting conflicts, ruptures, and continuities. The analysis is structured around four complementary themes. First, the overall objectives pursued by decentralization-citizen participation, efficient public services, and balanced territorial development-appear to have been partially achieved due to political and financial constraints. Second, the institutional framework, marked by a complex legal and administrative architecture, suffers from a lack of coherence between the different levels of power, limiting the real autonomy of municipalities. Thirdly, structural advantages, such as proximity to decision-making and the emergence of local initiatives, face significant limitations: insufficient resources, low professionalization of actors, and increased dependence on the central government. Finally, the reasons for a profound reinvention of the model today lie in the need to adapt decentralization to socio-economic changes, the requirements of democratic governance, and the imperatives of sustainable development.