Lost in Transit. Ressourcenförderung und Mobilität in der ostiranischen Provinz Khorassan

Abstract

Since the end of the 1990s efforts have been made by Iranian state agencies to generate sustainable development in eastern Iran, particularly along the Iran-Afghanistan border in the Province of Khorässän. Road building and resource development are part of the spatial planning and infrastructure-related efforts. The paper is based on anthropological research in sub-districts of Khorässän and traces the interactions and networks of those involved in infrastructural development and transit traffic between the Persian Gulf and Iran’s northern and eastern neighbours. The research focuses particularly on the conditions and circumstances that provide opportunities for spatial and social mobility. Finally, to help to understand the role of mobility in the future development of eastern Iran, the web of interrelations negotiated between actors and infrastructural institutions and state agencies is also considered.