Border Residents and Dependence on Supporting Institutions (Institutional Ethnography of Supportive Policies in the Border Villages of Khao and Mirabad Districts of Marivan County)

Abstract

The main issue of this research revolves around the fact that rural border residents have many problems earning a living, which has resulted in dependence on the help of support institutions. Based on the experiences of border residents in the form of interviews with 4 key informants in the villages of Khavomirabad rural district of Marivan city, in contrast to the supportive policies of government institutions, the policies and strategies adopted in this regard have been analyzed. In this regard, the participatory development approach and the institutional ethnographic method were used. The results were discussed and analyzed in the form of secondary categories, the shock of the end of activities of border markets, the failure of restorative policies, dependence on the assistance of supportive institutions, and spontaneous popular actions. The analysis of these categories showed that institutional policies supporting border residents have been ineffective and often negative. In contrast, the actions of rural border guards, which are described in the category of spontaneous actions of the people, have been indicative of confronting and filling the gaps of these actions and policies. Measures such as public participation in agriculture and animal husbandry, the creation of charitable funds, and public assistance in the development and reconstruction of villages have been a response to the policies and the unstable economic and social situation of these areas.

Keywords

• rural frontier residents
• participatory development
• institutional ethnography
• marivan city