Document Type : Research/Original/Regular Article
Authors
1 holly defense institution
2 Associate Professor, National Defense Faculty, National Defense University, Tehran, Iran.
3 Researcher, Sacred Defense Science and Education Research Institute, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract
This study aims to explain the factors influencing the participation of rural border communities in the northwest of Iran in national defense, with a particular emphasis on the experiences of the Sacred Defense (Iran-Iraq War). The research employs a descriptive-analytical method with a quantitative and field-based approach. The statistical population includes households residing in 124 border villages across the provinces of West Azerbaijan, East Azerbaijan, and Ardabil. Using a simple random sampling method and Cochran’s formula, 377 households were selected as the sample. Data were collected through a researcher-made questionnaire and analyzed using Smart PLS software and structural equation modeling (SEM). The study examined geographical, economic-livelihood, managerial-political, and socio-cultural dimensions as influential factors. The results indicated that the geographical, economic-livelihood, and managerial-political dimensions had the strongest and most significant positive effects on rural communities' participation in national defense, whereas the socio-cultural dimension showed weaker and, in some cases, negative correlations. The geographical index, with the highest path coefficient, played a major role in sensitizing and motivating rural residents toward defensive participation. Additionally, the economic-livelihood index, due to its direct link with subsistence and economic security, emerged as a key motivational driver. Based on these findings, strengthening infrastructure and implementing supportive economic and managerial policies—alongside re-evaluating socio-cultural strategies—can foster sustainable participation in national defense. These results hold strategic value for policymakers and development planners in border regions and can contribute to enhancing community resilience and grassroots defense.
Keywords
- Rural participation
- national defense
- Sacred Defense
- border areas
- northwest Iran
- structural equation modeling (SEM)
Main Subjects
)