Designing a sustainable border security management model in Ardabil province

Borders are symbol of people's identity and national culture, and its protection has a direct relationship with sustainable development. Sustainable border security management mechanisms in the country should be designed in such a way as to support domestic production and prevent smuggling. Considering the basic and important role of security in the development of rural and urban areas, especially the provinces and border areas of the country, identifying and evaluating the influencing factors on the category of sustainable border security is of great importance. In this regard, this research has been conducted with the aim of designing a model for sustainable border security management in two qualitative and quantitative stages. In the qualitative part, semi-structured interview and data base theory have been used. The statistical population in the qualitative section was 30 managers of the governorate and command of the Ardabil Border Regiment who were purposefully selected. After theoretical saturation in the interview, the recorded data were implemented for analysis and the necessary coding was performed. The statistical population in the quantitative section was all 280employees of Ardabil governorate who were selected according to Morgan table and 162people based on stratified random sampling method. The data collection tool at this stage was a researcher-made questionnaire resulting from the first stage, the validity and reliability of which were confirmed. The data set obtained in this study after the interview and during the continuous process of open, central and selective coding in the form of 90 open codes, 60 concepts, 15 categories and 6 categories based on a systematic approach were organized. The findings of the research show that expanding economic factors, eliminating economic poverty, increasing the strength of border regiment forces and creating sustainable jobs are among the most important factors in creating sustainable security in the borders of the province.