The Global Politics of Sustainable Development: An Analysis of Political Challenges to Sustainable Development

Abstract

Sustainable development is a subject that has sparked debate in the arena of global politics at present. Global politics can be a determining factor that could enhance or diminish the prospects of sustainable development. Materialization of sustainable development goals has been confined due to many challenges. Among these challenges, the major challenge is posed by political challenges which arise from the lack of political will and the inability among participating members to arrive at consensus. Even though pressure groups and civil society can exert some pressure in the decision making process, the whole decision making power is vested in the hands of politicians and elites. Therefore, implementation of policies aimed at sustainable development is only an illusion in the absence of a political will. For changes to be taken place there should be a political will. These controversies have created motivation for this study to address how global political challenges hinder the prospects of effective policy planning in sustainable development at global level. Therefore, this study will be significant in assessing the effective role of global politics in addressing issues related to sustainable development. The key research finding is that; the achievement of sustainable development in the absence of a political will is only a utopian dream. A qualitative approach has been used to analyze the secondary data collected through data sources including books, government publications, policy papers, academic journals, conference proceedings, speeches, web information and previous research. Data triangulation method has been used in collecting secondary data from multiple sources while collected data was analyzed through deductive content analysis method. The intended outcome of the research aims at creating awareness among policy makers about the importance of their role in materializing sustainable development goals.