In Benin, although the legal framework grants the Ombudsman of the Republic a central mandate in the prevention and resolution of disputes, the institution’s intervention in agro-pastoral conflicts remains structurally limited and only weakly effective in practice. This study examines the institutional, legal, and social factors that concretely restrict the institution’s room for maneuver in negotiating and monitoring mediation agreements between farmers and transhumant herders in the Zou Department. Adopting a qualitative approach, the study relies on semi-structured individual interviews and participant observation as methods of data collection. Fifty-two informants participated in the interviews. They were selected through purposive sampling based on the principle of theoretical saturation. The analysis of the data, informed by Weberian bureaucratic theory, highlights an internal organizational structure composed of interdependent services operating under the administrative authority of the Ombudsman. However, the absence of binding powers significantly limits the institution’s ability to enforce and sustain mediation agreements, particularly in the field of agro-pastoral conflicts. Ultimately, the findings show that although the legal texts formally grant a certain degree of flexibility to the Ombudsman’s scope of action, this scope is substantially reduced by structural, organizational, political, and social constraints.
