Halfway There, Long Way to Go: The Role of People’s Agency in the Final Years of the Sustainable Development Goals
Year: 2024
Type: editorial
Abstract: As we mark the anniversary of the publication of the 2030 Agenda mid-term report, the world’s nations stand at a crossroads. While off-track in achieving most Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), multiple crises have further exposed deep inequalities and vulnerabilities in the current dominant approach centred on economic growth and resource allocations. In this editorial paper, scholars of the human development and capability association and editors of the Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, express our deep concern at the lack of progress towards the SDGs. We argue for prioritising human development rather than economic growth and for putting human agency at the centre of development policy. This agency-centric approach includes the implementation of feedback systems for assessing human development progress through broader grassroots participation and relies critically on strengthening state capacities, safeguarding human rights, and promoting democracy.
Institutions: North South University, University of Reading, Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Fordham University, University of Florence, King's College London, University of Johannesburg, Instituto de Gestión de la Innovación y del Conocimiento, Universitat Politècnica de València, University of Pavia
Language: English
Topic: Human Rights and Development
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Reduced inequalities
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4404062630