Understanding the Role of Bureaucratic Politics in Public Policy Implementation in Iran: Case study of the Law on the Implementation of General Principles of Article 44 of the Constitution

The implementation of public policies faces many problems. Implementation problems are rooted in a number of factors, including bureaucratic politics. The purpose of the present study is to explain the role of bureaucratic politics in the implementation of privatization law in Iran. The approach of this research is qualitative, and the method of qualitative content analysis has been used. Data collection tools were semi-structured interviews and Fifteen of the privatization managers and practitioners were selected for the interview. This study showed that bureaucrats lose significant benefits by privatization. In general, they care about their personal interests. They refuse to accept responsibility and execute risky verdicts. In order to safeguard their interests, they try to influence the privatization policy by distorting and censoring the firms' information, misinterpreting the law, failing to properly perform their duties, improperly enforcing the law, and creating the wrong structure and organization. Therefore, one of the main obstacles to the implementation of the privatization policy in Iran is bureaucratic politics. Understanding the actions and behaviors of bureaucrats and using appropriate strategies to manage them can reduce the difficulties of implementing this policy and increase the likelihood of its success.