The contingency approach of policy-making in the economic and developmental planning of the Islamic Republic of Iran during the years 1981-1991

We should regard planning and policy-making as a function of dominant variables of the planning sphere. The failures of universal and absolutism theories about the issue of development have given rise to the formation of new approaches to the problem of policy-making in development, including the contingency model of policy-making. Fit, coherence and flexibility could be considered as the basic elements of contingency planning. What is the role of contingency policy-making in the developmental and economic planning of the Islamic Republic of Iran during the years 1981-1991 (the so-called sixties according to the solar calendar). Our investigation puts forward the hypothesis that the relative stability of economic and social situations of Iran during the sixties_ despite different political and national security crises that Iran had to struggle with over the years of the imposed war (eight years of war between Iran and Iraq) _ could be explained by the prominence of contingency policy-making in that decade. This study will adopt a descriptive-analytic approach and by using a library research method and investigating primary sources seeks to provide a framework for future studies and also suggests a model to adopt during the times of crises in the course of planning.