چکیده انگلیسی مقاله |
Abstract Sistan and Baluchestan Province, due to its remoteness from the country’s center and harsh natural conditions, has historically faced significant challenges in transportation and connectivity with the capital. Since the 1960s, the central government has accelerated initiatives aimed at integrating this region into the national framework guided by the principles of the modern state and a desire for spatial homogenization and strengthened sovereignty. The development of air transportation infrastructure emerged as a key strategy in this effort, serving not only to assert state authority, but also to enhance governmental capacity and facilitate communication. The bolstering of flight connections between Zahedan and major cities, such as Tehran and Mashhad, along with the construction of airports across the province, formed part of the state's broader project to manage peripheral areas and impose order within the context of post-World War II state modernism. Being grounded in James Scott’s theory of the “legibility” of peripheral regions in modern states, this study utilized lesser-known archival documents and sources to address the following question: How did the Pahlavi state expand air transportation to exert authority over peripheral regions like Sistan and Baluchestan? The findings revealed that the expansion of air routes, the establishment of airports, and particularly the use of light aircraft for postal services significantly enhanced rapid and sustained connectivity between the province and the central government. This development laid the groundwork for economic, administrative, and political progress in relation to major urban centers. Keywords: Zahedan, Pahlavi II, Scott, Legibility. Introduction Sistan and Baluchestan Province has long faced significant challenges in transportation and communication due to its distance from the country’s center and harsh natural conditions. The region's climate, along with natural disasters, such as sandstorms and floods, has hindered the development of safe and sustainable roadways. During the reign of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, as Iran embraced the principles of the modern state, the urgency to connect peripheral regions to the capital (Tehran) for purposes of administrative integration, control, and cohesion became increasingly pressing. As James C. Scott explains in Seeing Like a State (1998), modern states pursue "legibility"—the simplification and standardization of diverse local societies through tools, such as mapping, centralized planning, and infrastructure development. While these top-down initiatives are often framed as efforts toward development, they frequently function as instruments of bureaucratic control, imposing state logic onto complex local realities. In this context, the expansion of air transportation in Sistan and Baluchestan during the 1960s and 1970s can be understood as part of the Pahlavi state's strategy for spatial legibility. The vast area, inadequate road infrastructure, and widespread insecurity of the province made aerial mobility essential for effective governance and symbolic representation. The development of airports and air routes to cities like Tehran and Mashhad were not merely technical improvements; they were strategic initiatives by the central government to assert control and promote national integration. This study drew on archival documents, transportation reports, statistics, and local memoirs to explore the expansion of aviation in the region. It posed the question: How did the Pahlavi state utilize air transportation to exercise modern state authority over peripheral regions like Sistan and Baluchestan? Materials & Methods This research employed James C. Scott’s concept of legibility as its primary analytical framework. In Seeing Like a State (1998), Scott argues that modern states seek to make complex, locally specific societies “legible” to central authorities. This process involves simplifying diverse social and spatial realities into standardized, manageable formats through mapping, statistics, infrastructure projects, and bureaucratic classification. Legibility is not a neutral process; it is inherently political, reflecting the interests and logic of the state rather than the needs or knowledge of local communities. In applying this theory to the case of Sistan and Baluchestan during the Pahlavi era, the study investigated how the Iranian state aimed to impose spatial order and administrative control over a geographically remote and infrastructurally underdeveloped region. The development of air transportation infrastructure—particularly airports and flight routes—served as tools for integrating the province into the national framework and overcoming the limitations of land-based transportation. This initiative was part of a broader effort to manage the periphery and assert the visibility and reach of state power. The methodology involved qualitative analysis of archival documents, transportation ministry reports, national statistics, and local memoirs. These sources were examined to trace how air travel was planned, implemented, and rationalized as part of a legibility-driven strategy. By focusing on how spatial interventions made the region more “readable” to the central state, this study highlighted the intersection of infrastructure, governance, and territorial integration in modern Iranian state-building. Research Findings The findings of this research indicated that the expansion of air transportation in Sistan and Baluchestan during the Pahlavi era was not merely a response to technical or geographic challenges, but rather part of a broader strategy for modern state-building and territorial integration. The harsh natural environment, inadequate road infrastructure, and insecurity associated with overland travel created persistent barriers to connectivity and governance in this peripheral province. In this context, aviation emerged as a crucial tool for overcoming spatial isolation and asserting central authority. The state’s efforts to develop airports in Zahedan and other towns, along with the establishment of regular flights to Tehran and Mashhad, reflected an intention to make the region more "legible" in the Scottian sense—more visible, accessible, and governable to the central bureaucracy. These infrastructural investments facilitated not only the faster movement of officials and goods, but also enabled enhanced surveillance, improved information flow, and a more pronounced symbolic presence of the state. By linking the province more closely to the national core, the Pahlavi regime aimed to diminish the region's autonomy and integrate it into a unified national space. Thus, aviation served as both a practical and political instrument in the modern state's project to manage and assimilate its peripheries. Discussion of Results & Conclusion The challenges posed by distance, the lack of reliable and safe roads, and the harsh climatic conditions of southeastern Iran were persistent obstacles for both the Pahlavi state and the residents of Sistan and Baluchestan. With the political transformation of the Iranian state under Reza Shah and the implementation of modern state principles, connecting peripheral regions for administrative, security, and welfare purposes became a central concern. This process, particularly in remote and marginal areas, aligned with the logic of modern statehood, emphasizing spatial control and the expansion of governance tools. In this context, the establishment of air routes served as a technological means of achieving territorial legibility—what James C. Scott describes as part of a broader project to make previously unmanageable spaces readable and governable by state power. The Iranian aviation organization, a newly established institution under the Pahlavis, became an effective tool for the state’s physical presence in peripheral regions, often coordinating with other bodies, such as the postal service. From the 1950s onward, efforts were made to improve Zahedan airport and increase flights to the province. These initiatives arose from the strategic position of Zahedan as Iran’s eastern gateway and the inadequacy of road infrastructure. By the 1960s, especially during the Third Development Plan, air infrastructure expanded significantly with regular flights to Zahedan and activation of small airports in Iranshahr, Zabol, Saravan, and Khash. These regional air routes—operated by postal and twin-engine planes—created a limited yet effective network shaped by the overlapping interests of the postal service, military, private airlines, and local officials, reflecting Scottian concepts of “simplification for governability.” This study demonstrated that air transportation not only addressed logistical needs, but also played a crucial role in the exercise of state authority, spatial regulation, and territorial dominance. By controlling aerial mobility across borders and within the country, the state enhanced its capacity to govern and integrate the periphery. |