The Relationship Between Development and Environment in the Discourse of the Laws of Iran’s First and Second Development Plans

Despite clear evidence regarding the environmental consequences of previous development programs in Iran, the country has not succeeded in establishing a discourse in which environmental protection is understood as an essential component of development itself. From the perspective of paradigm transformation, Iran appears to have experienced at least four decades of delay in integrating environmental sustainability into its development paradigm. At the same time, new forms of environmental degradation continue to emerge, and in some sectors environmental issues have evolved into socio-political crises. Meanwhile, macroeconomic indicators such as unemployment, gross domestic product per capita, energy demand, food security, and the exploitation of oil, gas, and mineral resources continue to intensify the need for economically driven development policies. Consequently, Iran’s policy landscape reflects a fundamental contradiction between the increasing demand for economic development and the escalating environmental destruction generated by growth-oriented development models. This study examines the relationship between development and the environment in the legal discourse of Iran’s First and Second Development Plans through the theoretical framework of discourse analysis inspired by Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe. The findings indicate that although the dominant discourse in Iran continues to be influenced by modernization theory—which frequently conceptualizes development and environmental protection as contradictory objectives—the legal structure of the First and Second Development Plans partially challenges this assumption. However, the study also demonstrates the persistence of discursive instability and ambiguity. Policymakers simultaneously attempt to address urgent economic needs and growing environmental crises without achieving conceptual consistency. As a result, the discourse of development and environmental protection remains fragmented and oscillatory.

کلیدواژه ها:

Discourse Analysis ، Development ، Environment ، Sustainable Development ، First Development Plan ، Second Development Plan ، Iran