These endless marks of approval for remote parts of country (3,6)
I believe the answer is:
the sticks
'remote parts of country' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.
'these endless marks of approval' is the wordplay.
'endless' means to remove the last letter.
'marks of approval' becomes 'ticks' (as in ticks from a teacher).
'these' with its final letter taken off is 'thes'.
'thes'+'ticks'='THE STICKS'
'for' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for the sticks that I've seen before include "They limit goals" , "backward area" , "rural area" , "rural areas" , "Backwoods" .)