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This book is an authoritative account of rural development in Iran, spanning 60 years and 2 distinct political regimes.
Professor Mostafa Azkia has spent many decades demonstrating the importance of participatory rural development, not only in addressing rural problems but also in reducing urban concerns, such as unemployment and overpopulation. This book is the culmination of this work, bringing together a detailed analysis of the theories, history, and strategies of rural and state development in Iran both before and after the Islamic Revolution. Putting rural communities at the fore, the book demonstrates that there has been significant progress in reducing the rural- urban gap, both in terms of income and standards of living, resulting in a more equal path of socioeconomic development for Iran.
This comprehensive assessment from Iran's foremost rural sociologist will be an important read for researchers and professionals working on rural development and sociology in the Middle East.
List of contents
Chapter 1: Conceptual and Theoretical Dimensions of Rural Development Chapter 2: Analytical Review of Rural Studies in Iran Chapter 3: Socio- Demographic Changes in Rural Iran Chapter 4: Patterns of Rural Settlement and its Changes Chapter 5: Rural Social Structure and Land Reform Before and After Revolution Chapter 6: Rural Development and Social Stratification Chapter 7: Political Structure and Rural Development Chapter 8: The State and Social Participation Chapter 9: Land Exploitation Systems, and Climate Changes on Agriculture Chapter 10: Rural Development in Developmental Plans Before and After Revolution Chapter 11: Final Words
About the author
Mostafa Azkia is a professor of rural sociology and rural development in the Department of Development Studies, University of Tehran. Dr Azkia has retired after 40 years of teaching sociology at the University of Tehran and other Iranian colleges. Also being a respected mentor and teacher, he is also Iran's leading sociologist and a scholar who has been conducting field research in villages throughout Iran for more than 50 years. He was the Ex-Director of the Institute for Social Studies and Research at the University of Tehran for many years. He is also Director of the
Iranian Sociological Review journal at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University. Professor Azkia is a member of the International Editorial Advisory Board, Middle East Critique.
Report
"Ultimately, this book represents not only the culmination of Professor Mostafa Azkia's professional career, but also the formal entry of Iranian development sociology into the global academic dialogue. Through its publication, Routledge has created a platform for the indigenous yet scholarly voice of Iran to be heard in the field of rural development. The book offers a rare synthesis of empirical data, lived experience, and theoretical frameworks-an offering that has the potential to inspire a new generation of scholars both within Iran and across the Global South. In doing so, Iran is no longer merely an object of study but is increasingly recognized as an active contributor to the global production of knowledge in development studies."
Mohammad Nabhan, PhD student, Economic Sociology and Development.
"Professor Mustafa Azkia is as passionate and interested in teaching and training in academic centers and conveying conceptual, theoretical, and discursive topics as he is in conducting field and practical research and in dialogue with stakeholders in development policies and programs. For this reason, we witness the intertwining of theoretical and practical research in his works. [...] The book is a valuable work that contains valuable data and points about Iranian rural society and is a useful work for researchers of Iranian rural society."
Gholamreza Ghaffari, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Tehran.
