Explanation the Geopolitical Roots of Territorial Imbalance in Iran's Spatial Governance

The imbalance in the development of regions across the country in various domains is one of the most pressing and challenging issues facing the nation today. This lack of balance and equity has led to certain areas enjoying greater access to both material and intangible resources, resulting in the significant polarization of the country’s spatial structure. This, in turn, has deepened class disparities and created severely underprivileged regions. Such unbalanced development has intensified the class divide between provinces and cities, prompting misguided migration to more developed areas and causing rural inhabitants to move to urban centers, which has further spurred the growth of informal settlements. The spatial and territorial imbalance in Iran is rooted less in natural inequalities and more in the decisions of policymakers over the course of history. Hence, the mindset of decision-makers cannot remain unaffected by the influential geopolitical contexts. This factor inevitably shapes the perspective of Iranian policymakers when it comes to locating activities and assigning uses to specific areas, often through the lens of a concept termed "security." Therefore, a fundamental question arises: What geopolitical factors underlie the security-oriented approach in spatial planning that has led to territorial imbalance within the country? And how have these factors been applied and institutionalized in organizing the country’s development framework?

کلیدواژه ها:

Geopolitics ، Spatial Governance ، Territorial Imbalance ، Islamic-Iranian Model of Progress ، ژئوپلیتیک ، حکمرانی آمایشی ، ناتعادلی سرزمینی ، سند الگوی اسلامی ایرانی پیشرفت