Appropriate policy-making for rural regions management in Iran

Abstract

The development of rural areas, from various aspects, has always been of interest for researchers in less developed communities. These studies, according to the way governments look at development issues, have led the governments to make decisions and implement plans for how to manage rural areas (called politics); the process of studying, planning, as well as making decision and ultimately implementation in the rural environment is called rural policy-making. In Iran, different decisions have always been made to develop rural areas. In this study, we sought to identify the characteristics of policy-making and governance of rural areas and to understand the causes of their inefficiency in order to provide an appropriate model for policy-making and management of rural areas in Iran. Using thematic analysis, the themes of policy-making for managing the rural areas of Iran were investigated. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews and studying the related documents. The findings showed three categories of pervasive themes: contexts; influential factors, and outcome dimensions. These three shape the basic concepts and organize themes for appropriate policy-making. In fact, based on the results, policy is appropriate for managing Iran's rural areas; it pays attention to the context and specific characteristics of the rural identity and environment, considers the role of external factors in decision-making and policy outcomes, is aware of the consequences of the previous policies, and leads to stability in policies.