POPULAR MOVEMENTS, INCIDENTAL FACTORS, AND THE STATE'S MEASURES FOR REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN

This paper examines the major influences on and changes in regional development in Iran since the revolution of 1979, and evaluates the state's efforts to balance regional development. Three influences have been identified, namely, popular movements, incidental factors, and the state's measures. Among the incidental factors, the Iran‐Iraq war has been the most significant. It led to economic destruction, reduction of provincial disparity and massive internal migration. The popular movements, on the other hand, followed disruption of the state machinery and led to a de facto administrative decentralization, an upsurge of local initiatives, and an active public participation in local affairs. However, the increasing centralization of the state since the Revolution is eroding the positive effects of these trends. While the state‐induced constitutional, administrative, planning, and policy measures are designed to realize balanced regional development, their real effect remains limited due to problems in implementation and the lack of a coherent development strategy. However, there is evidence that regional disparity is narrowing rather than widening. Although this is a result of the three forces combined, each one of the three forces appears to have helped to induce this change.