A Reflection on the Reconfiguration of Social and Economic Relations in the Village; A Sociological Study of the Ban on Land Sales in Sular Village

Authors

Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Allameh Tabatabaei University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

In the village of Sular, there is an unwritten norm that prohibits the sale of land to non-natives. This rule is rooted in a network of ethical and social beliefs, to the extent that many residents regard land transactions as a form of “betrayal of the collective heritage.” The rule mentioned above is not restricted to land ownership by non-indigenous individuals; it also encompasses government ownership in development initiatives. What mechanisms have resulted in the perpetuation of this rule? This is the most critical inquiry.
This investigation implements an exploratory, phenomenological case study approach. The underlying social contexts and concealed functions of the rule were elucidated through semi-structured interviews with 13 local actors, as well as field observation and informal conversations.
The final analysis reveals that the prohibition of land sale is not a remnant of a static tradition, but the result of a new configuration of ethical relationships, power dynamics, economic pressures, and collective memory. In this regard, it may be considered a contemporary ethical institution that has emerged as a result of local resistance to market forces. Contrary to initial assumptions, this rule not only fosters solidarity but also, in certain instances, functions as an instrument of domination.
The rule that forbids the sale of land to non-natives reflects the entanglement of collective conscience (Durkheim) and the embeddedness of the economy within the local community (Polanyi), yet it also serves as a tool of symbolic domination (Bourdieu). This regulation serves as both a safeguard of the village’s collective identity and a point of conflict between livelihood, ethics, and power.

Keywords

References

Azizi, S; Azizpour, F. and Tahmasbi, A. (2021). The analysis of local community perception on good village case study: Vers village.  Community Development (Rural-Urban), 12(2), 587-618. https://doi.org/10.22059/jrd.2021.322702.668647 (In Persian)
Anbari, M. & Piri, S. (2016). Tose be masabeh-e binavaei-e akhlaghi. Journal of Economic & Developmental Sociology, 5(1), 87-114. (In Persian)
Anbari, M. (2016). Nightmare of “Development” and Rural Disquiet. Social Studies and Research in Iran, 5(1), 171-187. https://doi.org/10.22059/jisr.2016.58382 (In Persian)
Anbari, M. and Ahmadi, M. A. (2016). Participation as keeping face against "The Other" (The study of the process and structure of participation in the experience of piped water supplying in Zilan village).  Social Development (Previously Human Development), 10(3), 83-110. https://doi.org/10.22055/qjsd.2016.12200 (In Persian)
Aron, R. (1997). Main currents in sociological thought. Translated by Baqer Parham. Tehran: Elmi-o-Farhangi. (In Persian)
Ayar. A., Anbari. M. (2023). From walnut to eucalyptus: An ethnographic approach to the erosion of local communities in Iran, Social sciences, 30(100), 29-73. https://doi.org/10.22054/qjss.2024.78382.2763 (In Persian)
Bourdieu, P. (2001). Raisons pratiques: sur la theorie de I’action. Translated by Morteza Mardiha. Tehran: Naqsh-o-negar. (In Persian)
Bourdieu, P. (2016). The social structures of the economy. Translated by Hassan Chavoshian. Tehran: Social Security Organization Research Institute. (In Persian)
Coser, L. A. (1994). Masters of sociological thought. Translated by Mohsen Salasi. Tehran: Elmi. (In Persian)
Creswell, J. W. (2012). Qualitative inquiry and research design. Translated by Hassan danaei-fard and Hossein Kazemi. Tehran: Saffar. (In Persian)
Durkheim, E. (2012). Lecons de sociologie: Physique des moeurs et du droit. Translated by Seyed Jamal-e- Mousavi. Tehran: Ney. (In Persian)
Durkheim, E. (2015). The division of labor in society. Translated by Baqer Parham. Tehran: Markaz. (In Persian)
Durkheim, E. (2019). Les formeselemen taires de la vie religreuse. Translated by Baqer Parham. Tehran: Markaz. (In Persian)
Escobar, A. (1992). Imagining a post-development era? Critical thought, development and social movements. Social text, (31/32), 20-56.
Farhadi, M. (2015). The tradition of co-operation in Iran. Tehran: Markaz-e nashr-e daneshgagi. (In Persian)
Giddens, A. (2005). The consequences of modernity. Translated by Mohsen Solasi. Tehran: Markaz. (In Persian)
Halbwachs, M. (1992). On Collective Memory.Trans.and ed. L.A. Coser. Chicago: University of Chicago Press
Jaisson, M. (2008). Mémoire collective et espace social. M. Halbwachs, La Topographie légendaire des évangiles en Terre sainte, 73-98.
Li, Y., Fang, Z., Li, J., & Zhang, L. (2023). Local Identity Based on Villagers’ Vision of Life and Village Dynamics—Evidence from 40 Villages in Yunnan Province, China. Sustainability, 15(22), 15755.
Lu, X., Tan, D., Zhou, Y., Xie, Y., & Chen, Z. (2024). Traditional village perception and protection behavior: The mediating role of local identity and the impact of different population differences. Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering, 1-18.
Petrescu-Mag, R. M., Rastegari Kopaei, H., & Petrescu, D. C. (2021). What drives landowners to resist selling their land? insights from ethical capitalism and landowners’ Perceptions. Land, 10(3), 312.
Polanyi, K. (2018). The economy as instituted process. In The sociology of economic life (pp. 3-21). Routledge.
Polanyi. K. (2012). The Great Transformation. Translated by Mohammad Maljoo. Tehran: Pardis-e danesh. (In Persian)
Rahnema, M. (1997). Towards post-development: searching for signposts, a new language and new paradigms. Development: Identities, Representation, Alternatives, 304-331.
Scott, J. C. (1977). The moral economy of the peasant: Rebellion and subsistence in Southeast Asia. Yale University Press.
Scott, J. C. (1985). Weapons of the weak: Everyday forms of peasant resistance. Yale university perss.
Seidman, S. (2016). Contested knowledge: Social theory today. Translated by Hadi Jalili. Tehran: Ney. (In Persian)
Shariati, S. (2021). Call to The community in social solidarity and its enemies. Tehran: Ney. (In Persian)
Smith, G. (2023). Livelihood and resistance: Peasants and the politics of land in Peru. Univ of California Press.
Stones, R. (1998). Key Sociological Thinkers. Translated by Mehrdad Mirdamadi. Tehran: Markaz. (In Persian)
Strauss, A. L. (2014). Basics of qualitative research. Translated by Ebrahim Afshar. Tehran: Ney. (In Persian)
Tarh-e hadi-e baznegari-e roosta-ye sular (2012). Daftar-e fanni va tahiy-ye tarh-ha: Boniyad-e maskan-e enghelab-e eslami-e Iran, Hozeh-e moavenat-e tose-e roostaei. (In Persian)
Tavousi, T. (2006). Traditional managements of irrigation systems in arid and semi; Arid area of Iran case study: Farms of Yang-Abad. Geography and development, 3(6): 93-112. (In Persian)
Williams, R. (1975). The Country and The City. Oxford University Press, USA.
Yali, M. (2021). Study on the position of rural identity in the rural guide plans of Tonekabon villages. Fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of M.A. Tarbiat Moddars university, Faculty of Art and Architecture, Department of Urban design. (In Persian)
 
The Journal of Community Development (Rural-Urban)
Volume 17, Issue 2 - Serial Number 33
Autumn and winter 2025
January 2025
Pages 363-383

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics