Prioritizing Sustainable Security Strategies in Borderline Areas Case Study: Kurdistan Province

A spatial inequality between different geographical areas is the most important factors threatening the security of a society. These developmental inequalities deepen the political, economic and social gaps. A Border are a in each country has certain characteristics that differ substantially from the hinterland. Border areas of the country encounter many problems including: lack of inhabitants, migration of frontiersmen, separation from the country's development and sustainable security and in this regard, border areas are of particular importance. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct scientific studies, and arrange and prioritize decisions by developing strategies and efficient development programs in terms of spatial planning in border areas.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK: Preparation of the border areas is a kind of planning which links development with security and defense of the requirements of the border regions within the framework of these areas, and introduces strategies for development of the border areas in which security and development are interdependent. According to the previous studies, security and development in the border areas have a high correlation coefficient with a direct and reciprocal relationship, so that each taken step in the process of development has its own direct impact on the realization of security and vice versa. Therefore, areas with high indices of development will enjoy higher security coefficients than the developed regions. In this regard, the following four attitudes are inferred: a) attitude of prioritizing security to development; b) the attitude of prioritizing development to security; c) attitude of prioritizing mutual understanding of development and security; d) attitude of prioritizing distinction between development and security in practical field.
The present research methodology is descriptive- analytic and survey method (based on questionnaire) in the form of a Likertte scale. The statistical population of this study consisted of two groups: 1) the first group university instructors and M.A students of political geography and politics science and 2) the second group security experts of the province35.people were selected by the snowball sampling. In this study the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of sustainable security in the region were studied, identified, and analyzed using the SWOT model. Finally, with regard to the current situation of QSPM, prioritization of the strategy suitable for preparation of the border areas was identified.
In order to provide proper sustainable security strategies in preparation of the border areas of Kurdistan Province, knowing quad-factors of SWOT model is inevitable to eliminate the weaknesses and threats and improve the strengths and opportunities. 10 domestic strengths, 10 domestic weaknesses, 7 opportunities, and 7 threats were identified as the factors affecting the development of sustainable security. The weighted score of the internal factors (2/79) which was greater than 2/5 represents the priority of the strengths on the weak nesses in terms of development of sustainable security in the province. The most important strengths include the "presence of educated people and native professionals in the province" and "formation of comprehensive policy of provincial public security." The most significant weaknesses are "widespread illegal traffic" and "increasing trafficking and its negative feedback on security." The weighted score of the external factors (2/66) that was greater than 2/5 shows the priority of the opportunities on the threats in the development of sustainable security in Kurdistan. The results shown in the table show that the most important opportunity and threat were "paying special attention to the issue of security on the borders of Kurdistan" and “the threat of the American and NATO military presence in the vicinity of the borders of Kurdistan”.
The results showed that the development of the sustainable security in Kurdistan province follows an aggressive pattern or (SO). According to this definition, it is vital to choose strategies of using the strengths to take better advantage of the opportunities, and achieve sustainable development of security. The results of prioritizing these strategies show that among the modified strategies, the highest and the lowest rates of attraction belonged to optimal preparation of the police force to deal with possible insecurities (6/65) and Strategy bandits and attacking the smugglers and gangsters of the province (5/15), respectively. However, the authorities are required to strengthen other strategies as well to build sustainable development both in the field of sustainable security in the border areas development and in other sectors- economic, socio-cultural, and political, since individual consideration of these factors cannot provide the preparation of the border areas.