Developmental State and the Challenges of Economic Development in Iran (1979-2020)

This paper studies the situation of the developmental state in Iran and its role in promoting economic development. The main question of the present study is why in the post-revolutionary Iran, the "developmental state" did not function efficiently and could not successfully promote the economic development of the country. To answer the research question, Adrian Leftwichchr('39')s theory of developmental state was used as the conceptual framework of the present study. Douglass C. North et al.’s theory of social orders was also applied. The present study is based on historical research method and narrative analysis technique. In the present study, the "national government" is the unit of analysis. Domestic, regional and international events and conditions are selected as the context of economic development in relation to the national state and are analyzed on a time-lapse basis. According to the findings, the structural and institutional weaknesses of the state along with regional and international developments have led the country to internal and external tensions. Thus, despite the effectiveness of the state in Hashemi Rafsanjani and early Khatami period, the country enters internal and external tensions and eventually the “security” discourse replaces the “development” discourse. Under such circumstances, the countrychr('39')s priorities and institutional arrangements would no longer be “developmentally-driven”, and the process of economic development of the country would be interrupted and even set back.