Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Assistant Professor of Political Science, Imam Hossein (AS) University, Tehran, Iran
2
Assistant Professor, Department of Islamic Studies, Kermanshah University of Technology, Kermanshah, Iran
10.22080/sod.2026.31000.1037
Abstract
State-led development in Iran during 1961–1978, aimed at fostering rapid economic growth and modernization, played a decisive role in social transformations and the reconfiguration of social order. The central issue of this study is to examine why state development projects failed to stabilize social order and to analyze the social consequences of this process. Addressing a gap in historical-sociological research in Iran, the study seeks to clarify the causal–historical relationship between state-led development and social change. The objectives are to elucidate the characteristics of state development, analyze the transformation of social structures, and propose a conceptual model of the relationship between state-led development and social order. The research employs a qualitative, historical–analytical methodology grounded in historical sociology, utilizing document analysis, processual analysis, and within-case comparative analysis. Data sources include historical documents, official statistics, memoirs, and academic reports, which were analyzed through conceptual coding and the identification of recurring patterns. Findings indicate that state-led development, characterized by the concentration of power, financial reliance on oil, and rapid implementation, weakened traditional intermediary institutions and transformed class and cultural relations. This process resulted in reduced social cohesion, increased social conflicts, and a crisis of legitimacy. The study concludes that economic development, without attention to institutions, social participation, and cultural cohesion, cannot produce a sustainable social order.
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