Local public administration is the heart of the social dynamics around which materials of social recognition are mobilized. The objective here is to analyze the performance of these materials within the local public administration in the Municipality of Allada in Benin. A qualitative approach is adopted around fifty key players in local governance. Reasoned choice and snowball sampling techniques through the interview guide made it possible to collect data. Social recognition and the denial of social recognition are objectified latently and manifestly in the process of local governance in the Municipality of Allada. We note an instability of these materials structured around the differential representations of the actors. These differential representations around which the actors position themselves also contribute to the weakening and strengthening of local governance.

Keywords: Social recognition, denial of recognition, local governance, performance, Allada.