The pathology of cyberspace policy in Iran based on the theory of post-developmentalism

In general, the goals set out in the upstream documents of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the field of cyberspace have not been achieved as they should have been. The present article raises the main question of why cyberspace policy-making in Iran has failed to achieve the goals set out in the upstream documents? It seeks to explain the causes of these failures from a pathological perspective based on post-developmentalist theory, using the descriptive-explanatory method, which is considered as a qualitative method. The findings of this study indicate that relying on the "institutional model" and then the "group model" in cyberspace policy in Iran, underlies the failure of cyberspace policy in achieving the goals set in this area (including, localization of infrastructure , Production of appropriate internal content, increase of media literacy, etc.); However, cyberspace policy-making based on the "post-developmentalist" approach could achieve the goals set out in the above documents by highlighting the basic and indigenous needs of the country in the field of cyberspace, decentralization and strengthening the participation of people and civic institutions in decision-making and implementation of policies in cyberspace.