Evaluation of Rural Governance for Achievement of a Sustainable Local Government (Case Study: Rural Area Surrounding Karaj Metropolis)

Document Type : Scientific Articles

Authors

1 Payame Noor University

2 University of Tehran

Abstract

Purpose- This study tries to evaluate rural governance and identify its effective factors in a rural area, around Karaj Metropolis, for the achievement of local governance in central Iran.
Design/Methodology/Approach- In terms of goal and nature, it is practical, while with regards to its methodology, it serves as a survey. The statistical populations of this research include 53 rural managers of rural settlements as rural governors (Dehyar), 105 rural councils, and 366 heads of village households, selected based on classification sampling within a multi-stage process. Both techniques of PROMETHEE and Analytic Network Process (ANP) have been employed for analysis, level evaluation, and classification of governance in the studied rural area.
Findings- Based on the parametric method, results show that out of 53 studied local government, 53% had good governance; 25%, average governance; and 22%, weak governance. Furthermore, based on ANP Technique, the rural district (Dehestan) of Adran had the highest governance rank, while the rural district of Kamal Abad had the lowest. In general, the findings show that governance level in the studied local governments were quite desirable.
Research limitations/Implications- Governance is a multidimensional issue with various definitions and theories thereof the villagers’ attitude towards rural governance and its indicators is restricted.
Practical implications-In the study area, rural governance is in a good position, but some of the rural governance components and indicators are in an unsatisfactory and critical situation and require serious attention for improvement.
Originality/Value- So far, there has been little attention paid to rural governance in the cities, especially in the peripheral regions of metropolitan areas. Accordingly, the present study is of considerable importance.

Keywords


1. Assche, K. V., & Hornidge, A. K. (2015). Rural development: knowledge and expertise in governance. Wageningen Press. ‏
2. Azimi Amoli, J., & Rokneddin Eftekhari, A. (1393/2014). Rural Governance (Sustainable Development Management). SAMT Pub. [In Persian]
3. Azkia, M., & Imani, H. (1384/2005). Social Investigation of Efficiency Factors of Cities Islamic Councils. Social Science Quarterly, 26, 33-64. [In Persian]
4. Badri, S. A. & Mousavi, S. A. (1387/2009). New Rural Management. Eshtiagh Noor Pub. [In Persian]
5. Badri, S. A. (2013). Design and Evaluation of Iranian Rural community. Iranian Municipalities organization research center. [In Persian]
6. Barakpour, N. (1387/2008). Urban Governance and Administration System in Iran. The Urban planning and Management Conference Paper Collection, Pp. 491-519, Mashhad: Ferdowsi University Pub. [In Persian]
7. Beer, A. (2014). Leadership and the governance of rural communities. Journal of Rural Studies, 34, 254-262. ‏
8. Bevir, Mark (2013). Governance: A very short introduction. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
9. Bigdon, C. (2006). Good Governance and Conflict Transformation in Sri Lanka: A Political Analysis of People’s Perceptions of Institutions at the Local Level and the Challenges of Decentralised Governance. Bonn, Switzerland. Retrieved August 2014, 18. ‏
10. CARE. (2006). Local Governance Self-Assessment, Guidelines for Facilitators. [Online]. http:/ /www.swisscooperation.admin.ch/bangladesh//ressources/resource_en_ 167178.pdf.
11. Chobchiyan, Sh., Kalantari, Kh., & Fami, Sh. (1386/2007). Factors Affecting on Dehyari’s Performance of Gilan Province. Journal of Village and Development, 2, 87-107. [In Persian]
12. Colebatch, H. K. (2002). Policy. Open University Press, Philadelphia, USA.
13. Darban Astane, A. (2010). Explain the rural governance in local government (Case Study: Qazvin Township). PhD Thesis, Tehran University. [In Persian]
14. Fałkowski, J. (2013). Political accountability and governance in rural areas: Some evidence from the Pilot Programme LEADER+ in Poland. Journal of Rural Studies, 32, 70-79. ‏
15. Gabor, S. (2001). The Indicators of Local Democratic Governance Project: Concepts and Hypothesis. BUDAPEST: Local Government and Public Service Reform Initiative Open Society Institute.
16. Gabor, S. (2006). The State of Local Democracy in Central Europe. BUDAPEST: Local Government and Public Service Reform Initiative Open Society Institute.
17. Gupta, R., & Ramanjit., K. (2007). Study of Urban Governance in Punjab, Institute for Development and Communication (IDC). http://idcindia.Org/ Downloads/urban governance _indicators. Pdf.
18. Haydari, H. (2015), valuation and evaluation of the performance of new rural management in Bushehr province, PhD Thesis, Islamic Azad University.
19. Hufty, M. (2011). Investigating policy processes: the governance analytical framework (GAF). Research for sustainable development: Foundations, experiences, and perspectives, 403-424. ‏
20. Sarvestani, R., H., Imani Jajarmi, A., & Firozabadi, A. (1387/2008). The Analysis of urban governance models in Tehran 3th Islamic Council Election. Quarterly Journal of Social Welfare, 46, 9-33. [In Persian]
21. Sheng, Y. K. (2010). Good Governance in Southeast Asia. Environment & Urbanization ASIA, 1, 2: 131- 147.
22. Stark, Nancy (2010). Effective rural governance. Rural Policy Research Institute, U. S. A.
23. UN-HABITAT. (2006). Urbanization Challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa Umbsaar, Leelo. (2009). Good Governance Measured: Do Post-Martial Law and Ex-Soviet Societies Differ? A Case Study of Taiwan and Estonia. Paper prepared for the MPSA 65th Annual National Conference [online]. http://www. allacademic. com/meta/ p361038_index. html.
24. Ward, N., & Brown, D. L. (2009). Placing the rural in regional development. Regional studies, 43(10), 1237-1244.
CAPTCHA Image