Introduction to the Handbook on the Governance of Sustainable Development

Abstract

Sustainable development is the pathway to the future we want for all. It offers a framework to generate economic growth, achieve social justice, exercise environmental stewardship and strengthen governance. (Ban Ki Moon, 2013)The full realization of the Sustainable Development Goals and other internationally agreed development objectives strongly depends on a common understanding of the basic principles of effective governance for sustainable development. (Bouckaert et al., 2018) HISTORY OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENTConcerns around the human impact on the global environment became prominent in the 1960s, primarily on the basis of Malthusian concerns around the impact of global population growth on food and environmental security. The discourses were very

Policy integration through the Sustainable Development Goals? The case of the German Federal Government

“…While governments are internally differentiated in terms of structure and function, with individual government departments focusing on specific issues or problem areas that are factually, spatially, and socially bounded, sustainability requires the consideration of multiple perspectives and strands of knowledge that span different departments, levels, and sectors of society. Policy integration for sustainability means relating problems, goals and measures from different policy areas into a coherent, sustainability‐oriented policy framework (Bornemann, 2014; Russell, 2022). This involves resolving contradictions between policies or even transforming them into synergies (Wong & van der Heijden, 2019).…”

“…This involves resolving contradictions between policies or even transforming them into synergies (Wong & van der Heijden, 2019). An important prerequisite for integration is the overcoming of fences between institutionalized departments, levels, and the state organization in general, and intensified cooperation and coordination between different specialized policy actors (Russell, 2022; Allen et al, 2023). In the context of this study, we focus on these prerequisites for policy integration, namely the interaction processes (and their changes over time) between different governmental and societal actors, as they manifest themselves in sustainability governance arrangements of governments (looking at the case of Germany).…”

On the eve of ecological transition? The failed institutionalization of sustainable development in Italy (1992–2020)

“…The governance of SD has always constituted a focal point in the international debate (Adger and Jordan, 2009;Baker, 2016;Domorenok, 2019;Russel, 2022), as 'sustainability requires crosscutting structures, introducing new instruments and finally changes in organisational culture and practices that promote the willingness and the ability to innovate organisationally' (Heinrichs and Schuster, 2017: 550). Depending on the different interpretations of the core elements of SD, its positive translation into policy strategies and instruments greatly varies (Steurer, 2008;Jordan and Lenschow, 2010).…”