International Norms, Normative Change, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals

This volume uses a theoretical framework that centers on norm evolution and change to study norms that underpin some of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) included in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Its chapters are written by authors with diverse backgrounds and in-depth knowledge of different areas of sustainable development.

This book is an edited volume that focuses on international norms and normative change in some of the key areas of sustainable human development. This is an important and timely topic since the international community adopted a set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in September of 2015. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development will guide international development efforts over the next fifteen years. For this reason, developing a deeper understanding of the SDGs, the international norms that underpin them, and any normative change they represent is vital for students, scholars, and development practitioners and professionals. This volume is designed to provide an account of some of the normative debates and normative change that the process of developing a set of SDGs has entailed. Its goal is to assess the origins, nature, extent, and implications of normative change in the context of the post-2015 development agenda. It also evaluates the extent to which the SDGs represent a significant change from established development norms and practices.