The Role of Traditional Village Elites in Leadership to Providing Context for Public Participation in Community Development Activities

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Management and Social Sciences Research department, Research Centure for Policy and Governance Studies, Niroo (Energy) Research Institute, Tehran, Iran

10.22034/jbpd.2026.145593.1039

Abstract

Traditional elites in the villages of Kurdistan of Iran are an influential capacity of the local community, which even today, due to their indigenous knowledge and authority in the management of public affairs, play a role in ledearship development activities. In this research, in the light of the theoretical approach of community development and relying on qualitative methodology with ethnographic strategy in data collection and thematic analysis in data mining, an attempt has been made to describe and analyze the leadership mechanisms of these elites in rural communities of Sardasht County to create a context for public participation in government-oriented and people-oriented development activities with a focus on water and electricity service, construction and environmental protection projects. Based on the findings, they have been able to provide the necessary contexts to justify and convince people to agree to implement and participate in development activities through interaction with people, elites, and organizations, identifying and utilizing local capacities, and informing and presenting ideas. The results of this research are somewhat consistent with the theoretical frameworks of community development that emphasize community-based and indigenous grounding mechanisms. Government policies can, given these capacities, provide a suitable basis for the realization of populist community development.

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History

  • Receive Date: 26 February 2026
  • Revise Date: 18 May 2026
  • Accept Date: 19 May 2026

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