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What political function does the omnipresent talk of “resilience” have in today’s development aid? This article analyses the discourse of some programs and aid projects, in the light of empirical research led over fifteen years within the sahelian pastoral populations, who today are a symbol of resilience. It shows that the notion of resilience conveys compassionate and security meanings characterizing a neoliberal policy, resulting in the weakening of public policies. Beyond an alternative between rhetoric and innovation, this fine notion tunes the ideological thinking taken as development policy since the 1980s. On a local scale, this article questions the originality of resilience building projects and the relevance of this notion in the social field.