Investigating the interrelationship between security and development in Iran's border regions(Case study: counties of Sistan and Balouchestan province)

Security is the most basic need of any society and the most important factor for the sustainability of social life. Geographical injustices and unbalanced development of geographical parts of the country may damage national solidarity and unity. Due to the geopolitical situation, ethnic composition and historical situation in the southeast of Iran, sensitive security conditions have been formed and security policies in these border regions have often hindered the development of these regions. Therefore, the present study intends to examine the ranking of counties in terms of security indicators in the province level and the extent of its interaction with the development of these counties, in order to provide a course of action for planning to promote development at the county level. And it can also play an important role in the government's strategic planning to improve and develop these regions.This study is an applied and scientific research, and considering that the main factor studied in the research is the deprivation of Sistan and Baluchestan province; the research purpose is to explain the relationship between security and development of counties in Sistan and Baluchestan province in order to find the factors that reduce existing tensions and achieve courses of action to establish relative and sustainable development in the region.

The statistical population of this research is the counties of Sistan and Baluchestan province, Zahedan, Zabol, Zahak, Helmand, Khash, Iranshahr, Delgan, Saravan, Sib va Sooran, Sarbaz, Zaboli, Nikshahr, Chabahar and Konarak, which are included in eight groups based on similar features and available information. This study is applied based on the purpose and is of the type of scientific research; based on the nature and method, two descriptive-analytical and correlation methods are used, the nature of the data used is quantitative and these data collected through field and documentary information. First, security and its dimensions are evaluated during library and field studies using AHP technique, then in each county, the development and its dimensions are examined according to the extracted indicators by taxonomy method, and Pearson correlation method is used to determine the relationship between the dimensions of security and development in the province level.

the correlation test between security (including the sum of indicators) and development and its dimensions; Security was significantly correlated with overall development, socio-cultural development and economic development. According to the mentioned results, the correlation between security and all three components is very strong and has the highest correlation with socio-cultural development. This shows that development can be improved in general and in socio-cultural and economic dimensions by planning to expand and establish security (including the sum of indicators) in the counties of Sistan and Baluchestan province. Then, the correlation test between social security with development and its dimensions were performed; Social security has been significantly correlated with general development, socio-cultural development, and economic development. According to the results, the correlation of social security with all three components is very strong and has the highest correlation with general development. The test results show that it is possible to improve development in general and in socio-cultural and economic dimensions by planning to expand and establish social security in the counties of Sistan and Balouchestan province.In the correlation test between economic security and development and its dimensions, economic security has a significant correlation with general development, socio-cultural development and economic development. According to the results, the correlation of economic security with all three components is very strong and has been most correlated with general development. This result shows that development can be improved in general and in socio-cultural and economic dimensions by planning for the expansion and establishment of economic security in the counties of Sistan and Balouchestan province.In the test of the correlation between political security and development and its dimensions; Political security has been significantly correlated with general development, socio-cultural development, and economic development. The correlation between political security and all three components is very strong and has been most correlated with socio-cultural development. This result shows that development can be improved in general and in socio-cultural and economic dimensions by planning for the expansion and establishment of political security in the counties of the province.According to the test results, none of the security dimensions have significantly correlated with infrastructure development in Sistan and Balouchestan province. And finally, a regression test was performed between security (including total dimensions) and development (including total indicators). According to the results, 91.6% of the development of the counties of the province can be planned and established by strengthening the indicators of security that have a positive impact and weakening the indicators of security that have a negative impact on security in the province level.

According to the results obtained from correlation tests between variables and regression tests, security and its dimensions with development and its dimensions in border regions have a direct and two-way relationship with each other with a high correlation coefficient. In other words, development and security interact in border regions, so that any action in the process of achieving security has a direct impact on the process of achieving development and vice versa. Thus, areas with high security coefficient are more developed than areas with low security coefficient. However, according to the test results, infrastructure development is not correlated with any of the security dimensions, which can be justified due to the special and strategic location of the province. The results show that the present study is in line with the theoretical basis of the research, which is an attitude toward mutual understanding of security and development, and confirms the prevalence of this attitude (except in a few cases) in this region and indicate that security and development in border regions is directly related to national development and security, and any action that affects the security or development of the border regions will have an impact with variable ratios on national development and security.