Pathology of Development Planning with Emphasis on Rural Development Planning in Iran

Planning means rational, systematic and thoughtful work on the rational processes of achieving appropriate policies as well as the political-administrative processes through which the final policies are selected and implemented. The emergence of planning ideas in Iran was older than in other underdeveloped countries, and after World War II, a macroeconomic plan was needed in Iran. Since the end of the 1920s, when the development plans were introduced, the issues of rural development and its plans have also been addressed in the form of six focus programs and the structural evaluation of rural development programs is one of the well-known scientific methods. The pathological result of the five-year rural development plans shows that the actions of these programs failed to provide the basis for rural development. In general, before the revolution, according to the ruling modernist view and the desire for industrial development, on the one hand, the agricultural and rural sectors were considered traditional, and on the other hand, the government was not dependent on agricultural surpluses. In the post-revolutionary period, the rentier character of the state did not decline after the revolution, and the agricultural sector had relatively similar consequences. Regional development policy-making in Iran has also failed to address issues such as the involvement of regional actors, the recognition of potentials, the design of policies based on local conditions, and so on. The results show that the Communicative approach in planning away from the shortcomings of the rationalist approach has the necessary values to realize the desirable process of rural development planning in the country. Finally, the failure of all-round rural development programs is more due to the neglect of the legislative and planning system than to the rural and agricultural position, and these projects are planned and implemented without the help of the people.