SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AS A

CHALLENGE IN GEOPOLITICS
What is sustainable
development?
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Meeting the needs of the present

without compromising the ability
of future generations to meet
their own needs (Brundtland
Commission Report, 1987)
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The ability of a system to

continue working (and evolving)
over the long term (AtKisson,
2015)
 Where did the idea of
“Sustainable Development”
come from?
HISTORY OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

1972 - United Nations

Conference on the Human
Environment, Stockholm,
Sweden

1987 - World Commission

on Environment and
Development (Brundtland
Commission)
HISTORY OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

1992 - United Nations

Conference on
Environment and
Development (UNCED),
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
(“Earth Summit”)
HISTORY OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

2000 - United Nations Millennium Summit, New York,

USA (Adoption of the Millennium Development
Goals/ MDGs)
HISTORY OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
HISTORY OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

2012 - United Nations

Conference on
Sustainable
Development, Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil (Rio+20
Summit)
HISTORY OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
What is the role of sustainable
development in geopolitics?
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND GEOPOLITICS

“The world must quickly design strategies that will

allow nations to move from their present, often
destructive, processes of growth and development
onto sustainable development paths.”

- Brundtland Commission Report, 1987

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND GEOPOLITICS

“This will require policy changes in all countries, with

respect both to their own development and to their
impacts on other nations' development
possibilities.”

- Brundtland Commission Report, 1987

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND GEOPOLITICS

According to the Brundtland Commission Report, the

pursuit of sustainable development requires:

• a political system that secures effective citizen

participation in decision making,
• an economic system that is able to generate
surpluses and technical knowledge on a self-reliant
and sustained basis,
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND GEOPOLITICS

According to the Brundtland Commission Report, the

pursuit of sustainable development requires:

• a social system that provides for solutions for the

tensions arising from disharmonious development.
• a production system that respects the obligation to
preserve the ecological base for development,
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND GEOPOLITICS

According to the Brundtland Commission Report, the

pursuit of sustainable development requires:

• a technological system that can search

continuously for new solutions.
• an international system that fosters sustainable
patterns of trade and finance. and
• an administrative system that is flexible and has the
capacity for self-correction.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND GEOPOLITICS

Why Nations Fail (Acemoglu and

Robinson, 2012)

• Inclusive vs. Extractive political

and economic institutions
• Pluralistic distribution of power
• Feedback loops
• Innovation