At a time when political crises are dramatically amplifying ongoing structural transformations in rural areas across the West African Sahel and the Horn of Africa, new demands are emerging for not only productive but also civic rights for pastoral populations that have historically been politically marginalised. This paper, which considers social protection schemes as a potentially key element in the relationship with the state in rural areas and thus in the foundation of a social contract in African drylands, proposes to open up avenues for reflection by drawing on the example of pastoralists, who are held to be illustrative of the most marginalised populations. A literature review allows for an analysis of the conditions of different social protection schemes and their effects, with a view to formulating an agenda for developing social protection programmes offering universal coverage. Reflecting the central role of development institutions in this field, a first part proposes to better contextualise the “universal” or “targeted” programmes that underpin development interventions. A second part focuses on instituted forms of redistribution in pastoral areas, highlighting their diversity, their practical norms and their dynamics as they interact with the transfer mechanisms implemented in public action. The analyses arising from the paper serve to underline the following: (i)The need to renew our understanding of the transformations underway, their political drivers and their effects on a range of actors who are not equally placed to face change. It will thereby be possible to consider the place of social protection in a renewed public policy framework as a pillar of a new social contract between rural populations and states and as a lever for food sovereignty. (ii)The need to rethink the challenges of extending social protection beyond wage labour and decontextualised welfare state models, moving past preconceived ideas about programmes and their funding to focus more on the empirical dimensions of social protection policies. (iii)The importance of understanding local redistributive institutions in the complexity of the values, forms of belonging/exclusion and power relations that underpin them. Recognising the historicity and dynamism of these institutions makes it possible to interpret their evolution in light of wider contextual changes and to envisage public policies that promote their potential to provide protection and social cohesion. (iv)The urgent need to adapt existing schemes to the characteristics of pastoral systems and contexts. It is moreover essential to develop schemes enshrined in law that combine contributory insurance programmes based on recognised professional statuses and unconditional non-contributory assistance programmes intended to provide broad coverage for poorer sections of society using a life-cycle approach. The paper concludes by arguing that a new agenda for extending social protection must be built on an approach that is aligned with coherent agricultural and fiscal policies and that reflects the defining characteristics of the social fabric. The choices to be made pertain to the prerogatives and obligations of states to protect the livelihoods of their citizens.