Journal of Iranian Social Studies

Abstract At least in the last decade, the economic life of the border villages of the Nosud part of Paveh County of Kermanshah province has been tied to the Kolbari (Coulbari) phenomenon due to the unfavorable economic conditions and the location of the border. “Coulbari” is a temporary, stressful and risky activity. The purpose of the research is to investigate the role of the risky border economy in intensifying the popularity of the folk mysticism. This is a qualitative research using grounded theory. Necessary information was collected by in-depth interviews with “Coulbars” in Nosud. The findings reveal that risk-taking, sense of competition, lack of job stability, environmental conditions, lack of trust in people around them are background conditions on which easy access to elements of popular mysticism and using them for building strength of heart, act as intervening factors that lead to the adoption of strategies such as belief in written paper amulets, or fortune-telling, which are known as strategies of popular mysticism. Adoption of such strategies by “coulbars” led to erosion of public trust, more popularity of folk mysticism, as an instrument of the creation of peace in heart for continuation of risky businesses.
 
 

Abstract The opportunities and challenges of the border are more tied to women than it seems. Generally, border studies explore male activists, and border women have by and large been neglected. Howraman, as a border region, like other border regions of Kurdistan, has always faced opportunities and challenges. For example, in recent years, men from Iran's Howraman have been working as "migrant border workers" on a daily basis, away from their families in Iraqi Kurdistan. This paper aims at analyzing the daily life world of Hawrami border women, using the ethnographic method and based on the concepts of intersectionality. Paper recommends that the residents of the center of the country and in particular the academic community, need more knowledge about the different ways of life of border women. In order to pay more attention to their needs and wants in the process of  social development. This requires approaching the horizons of border women and paying attention to women's definitions of femininity, identity, discrimination and other daily concerns of border women who have to bear the heavy burden of life without the presence of men of the family most of the year.  The paper concludes that  the challenges facing daily life of  Howramani women act as barriers of  empowerment of both men and women So that,  it is not possible to solve the specific discriminations facing women alone because it is intricately intertwined with the discrimination against men.
 
 
 
 

Abstract The purpose of this research is to compare and contrast the border and non-border counties and provinces of Iran, with respect to demographic, economic, and social indicators. The study method was based on the secondary analysis of the data obtained from the census of 2016 and the statistical yearbooks of 2016. In regard to sociodemographic factors such as literacy status and education level, the results indicate that the border regions differ substantially from the non-border regions. Statistical evidence supports this distinction at both levels. Consequently, border provinces and counties have a lower literacy rate, and the percentage of individuals possessing a higher education is also lesser in the bordering provinces and counties compared to the non-bordering provinces and counties. The findings indicate that border regions exhibit a greater prevalence of unemployment, particularly among the youth, in comparison to non-border areas. Furthermore, apart from the evident social disparities that exist between border and non-border regions, demographic attributes including urbanization ratio, migration rate, and average age also manifest conspicuous and discernible distinctions between the aforementioned areas. Inadequate access to educational facilities and resources, limited employment prospects, and a concentration of resources and facilities in central regions have all contributed to the movement of people from border regions to central regions.
 
 
 

Abstract In Kurdish border areas, kolbari has become a way of life and the main source of livelihood. The aim of the current research is to analyze the narrative of the Kolbaran from the fields of formation and continuation of the Kolbari. The methodology of the research is qualitative and the narrative analysis method is used. The field under study is the Kolbars of Bane city, during which interviews were conducted with 19 Kolbers who had at least 3 years of Kolbar experience in the borders of Bane. We found two main themes of "destroyed border economy" and "unequal structure" regarding the contexts of the formation and continuation of Kolbari. According to Kolbaran's narrative, the political economy of the border is linked with the preservation and reproduction of the peripheral situation of the border areas and unequal structure. From this point of view, Kolbari is considered a kind of subjugation plan and policy; A policy that seeks the cultural integration of border regions without defining the role of border regions in the national division of labor. Based on this narrative, Kolbari is neither a product of the calculated economic choice of the Kolbars nor a natural result of the local economy, but rather an imposed phenomenon and indicates the crisis of political representation in the Kurdish border areas.
 

Abstract In addition to the class gap, Iran's border regions also suffer from regional spatial injustice. In the field of social justice and urban spatial justice, a lot of quantitative research has been done in various fields of social sciences, urban planning, etc., but regional spatial justice" has been neglected. This research examines social policies regarding the development of border regions with an emphasis on regional spatial justice with the qualitative method of critical discourse analysis with the Farclough-Laclave and Mouffe approach at the levels of description, interpretation and explanation.
In the post -revolution  5-year development plans, there is no article or note regarding the development of border areas, except, a  part of Article 204 of the Fifth Development Plan, which deals with investment and sustainable livelihood of border dwellers and border industrial towns. Social policies and development plans after the revolution, influenced by layering discourses. in the upper layer, fixed supra-discourse of the government of the Islamic Revolution stands, while in the middle layer, there are variable government discourses, and in the inner layer, there are development discourses. This layering creates a discourse order in which development plans for border areas are articulated as plans emphasizing on regional spatial justice. In these social policies, which are under influence of ideological- discursive formulation, posterior and distributive justice was preferred to a priori and procedural justice. But, the development of Iran's border regions with an emphasis on regional spatial justice, requires a combined approach of procedural-distributive justice and the rule of  an evolutionary discursive  order  instead of   an antagonistic one.
 
 

Abstract Smuggling goods has long been one of the important social issues in parts of  Iran, and a lot of studies have been conducted on this issue. So far, pathological view has been the most common perspective in these studies. Never the less, this viewpoint could not lead us to a deep-rooted understanding of the issue. Instead, examining the lived experiences of the real people who has been involved in such a profession would be a better way for an in-depth understanding of the problem.  By Using hermeneutical phenomenology and narrative interviews with 15 Shooti drivers of Baneh, we have attempted to analyze their lived experience. The most important themes, based on narratives, are the context of emergence of goods smuggling, dangers of the job, the strategies of encountering these dangers, and the last but not the least, understanding smuggling.  The research reveals that context and situation prepare them to start the job, and factors like, enormous profits, disproportion of crime and punishment, low probability of being arrested, and availability of resistance strategies explain the continuation of the practice. From another perspective the profession could be understood as resistance against inequal structures. Shooti’s resistance may be divided into passive and active.  Passive resistance refers to those shooties who leave smuggling when they find a desirable job.  Active resistance refers to the behavior of those shootis who love this job because of the identity the job gives them as a man who resists and struggles against a discriminating society. These group of shooties don’t leave their job even when they find other job opportunities. The second group are more frequent among shooti drivers. This kind of resistance is against both regional inequality as well as legitimate ways with which people become successful in the today’s life.