Analysis of the Role of Border Villages in Border Security; Case Study: Zaam and Golbanoo Rural Districts of Torbat-e Jam

Border security is a major influence on internal sustainability and stability of countries; thus, countries take various military and non-military measures to control their borders and secure them. Residents of border villages and the support they can provide could play a key role in securing borders and bringing profit to them as the main beneficiaries. Therefore, the present study intends to investigate and analyze the roles residents of border villages could play on border security. In order to do so, descriptive-analytical research method is used in both field and library levels and the data are collected and analyzed from 63 local experts in different levels. Findings revealed that, from the point of view of state experts, villagers could be of more significance in economic, social- cultural, political, physical- environmental and defensive- military security. Confirmatory factor analysis on the other hand demonstrated that villagers’ maximum impact on border security could be their political collaboration. Economic, social and physical-environmental factors are in the next level and the defensive-military dimension has the lowest impact for border guards give military aids and the need for military tools and other special conditions makes it impossible for local people.