This article offers a historical and critical examination of policies directed at Iran’s nomadic communities, arguing that in many periods the meaning of “development” gradually shifted from improving nomadic life to transforming, and at times effectively eliminating, the nomadic way of life itself. The article does not question the importance of education, healthcare, security, or welfare. Rather, it criticizes policies that made access to these services dependent on permanent settlement and withdrawal from nomadic mobility. A security-driven approach, the failure to recognize nomadic society as a distinct form of social life, the erosion of customary rights over pastures and migration routes, rural-oriented development policies, unsuitable settlement projects, the weakening of the pastoral economy, and the gradual loss of local institutions all contributed to this process. Alongside standardized education, limited community participation, the neglect of women’s roles, misleading cultural representations, and tourism developed without meaningful local control, these policies restricted migration territories, reduced economic independence, and disrupted the transmission of cultural knowledge. The article concludes that the decline of nomadic structures cannot be attributed to a single decision or historical period. It was instead the cumulative result of policies that failed to distinguish between social change and cultural elimination. Equitable development therefore requires recognition of the right to choose among full nomadism, semi-nomadic life, and permanent settlement, while ensuring that access to public services does not depend on abandoning the nomadic way of life.

Keywords: Nomadic communities, nomadism, settlement, development, territory, pastoral economy, state policy

     

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