Sustainable Development Policy Institutionalization in Iran: Barriers and Model

The scholars have recommended sustainable development to solve the socio-economic and environmental problems of today’s world and it has been widely accepted by governments، international bodies، NGOs as well as corporations. This study sought to analyze the barriers and provide a model for “institutionalization” of sustainable development policy in Iran. The method of research is Grounded Theory while interviews and documentary method were employed to collect the required data. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the academic experts while the theoretical sampling was used as data sampling method. The data analysis was performed by means of Atlas TI application software. Research findings suggest that there are a series of cognitive، institutional-legal، policy-related and social barriers to the institutionalization of sustainable development policy in Iran. As a result، institutionalization of sustainable development policy in Iran requires a model that takes such factors along with international documents، foreign experiences and domestic expertise into consideration to propose the right recommendations to remove the barriers.