Analyzing the Level of Social Capital in Rural and Urban Border Areas of Sistan Region

The present paper explains social capital and its measurement in the border areas of east Iran. It describes the concept and its development and its relation with trust which is one of the important components of social capital. It studies the level of social capital and its distribution in Sistan area. The idea of the growth of urban areas is prevalent in the border areas in one hand, and in the other hand the main contributing factors that maintain and protect border areas by local communities are social capital and trust. Based on the research hypothesis there is a significant difference between the level of social capital in rural and urban areas of Sistan. If the growth of urban areas is translated into the evacuation of rural areas in which social capital is higher, it certainly is not an appropriate idea. It will also be in contradiction with geopolitical necessities.