Futures Studies in Iran: Learning through trial and error

Futures Studies is a recent addition to the academic/intellectual/policy making life in Iran. Despite the fact that publication/launch dates of the first books/research projects on Futures Studies go back to few decades ago, it is only in the past few years that promotion of this discipline has gained momentum. Our aim in this paper is to present an overview of the development of Futures Studies in Iran since 1960s. We briefly explore the history of Futures Studies in Iran and explain why it has taken a technocratic line, as opposed to other possibilities (e.g. corporatist, environmentalists, citizen visioning (anticipatory democracy), etc.). In particular, we present an analysis of an ongoing and comprehensive foresight project whose objective is to provide Iranian top decision makers with a set of scenarios concerning future developments in a number of areas of science and technology until 2025. The main argument of the paper is that in response to the demands made by the policymakers, Iranian scholars, academics and technologists are trying to equip themselves with the latest techniques and know how for long-term planning and vision-building. However, due to various limitations the ride has not been an easy one. To overcome the obstacles, those who are at the forefront of developing indigenous versions of technological and theoretical aspects of Futures Studies have resorted to the method of trial and error and learning through doing. The paper critically examines the weaknesses and points of strength of this approach in the context of Iran.