Rethinking Development in Resource-Rich Multicultural Regions: Toward a Glocal Development Model Grounded in Cultural–Ethnic Capital Evidence from Khuzestan, Iran

Articles in Press

Document Type : Article extracted From phd dissertation

Authors
Mohammad Nabhan 1
Mehrdad Navabakhsh 2
Asemeh Ghasemi 3
1 Ph.D. Student, Department of Social Sciences-Sociology, SR.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
2 Department of Social Sciences-Sociology, SR.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
3 Department of Social Sciences- Sociology, SR.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
10.22034/he.2026.530280.1115
Abstract
Despite accounting for a substantial share of Iran's oil and gas resources and playing a strategic role in the national economy, Khuzestan Province continues to experience persistent development challenges, including unemployment, multidimensional poverty, intra- and inter-regional inequalities, and socio-cultural tensions. Although these conditions have largely been interpreted through the lens of the resource curse, existing development approaches have paid limited attention to endogenous cultural and ethnic capacities and to the integration of local assets with global opportunities in regional development strategies. Addressing this gap, the present study develops a socio-economic development model for resource-rich multicultural regions by integrating cultural–ethnic capital with the glocalization approach. This study adopts a qualitative, model-building research design. Data were collected through a systematic document analysis and 36 semi-structured interviews with academic experts, public administrators, and local stakeholders, and were analysed using Grounded Theory. The resulting conceptual model was subsequently refined and validated through multiple rounds of the Fuzzy Delphi technique with an expert panel to enhance its conceptual coherence and structural validity. The findings reveal that Khuzestan's developmental underperformance stems from the complex interaction of structural, historical, institutional, and socio-cultural factors rather than from resource abundance alone. The proposed model highlights the strategic role of cultural–ethnic capital, institutional decentralization, smart economic diversification, and the effective integration of local capacities with global economic opportunities as interdependent pillars of sustainable regional development. By providing an integrated analytical framework, the model offers both theoretical and policy-oriented insights for rethinking development in resource-rich multicultural regions. It may also inform the design of more inclusive and context-sensitive development strategies aimed at strengthening social cohesion and reducing regional inequalities in Khuzestan and other multicultural regions with comparable socio-economic characteristics.
Keywords
Regional Development
Resource Curse
Ethno-Cultural Capital
Social development
Subjects
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Human Ecology

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 24 August 2026