1st Edition
Sustainable Development Goal 16 and the Global Governance of Violence Critical Reflections on the Uncertain Future of Peace
This book brings together a diverse range of scholars and practitioners working at the nexus of peace and development to reflect, at the mid-way point of the Sustainable Development Goals implementation period, what impact Goal 16 has made, or may yet make, toward reducing violence in ‘all its forms.’
Adopted in 2015, the Sustainable Development Goals include 17 objectives designed to shape and direct the global development agenda through to 2030, with Goal 16 aiming to promote ‘peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development.’ Amidst an ongoing global pandemic, evidence of a fracturing liberal international order, and the persistence of seemingly intractable conflict in large parts of the world, this volume takes stock of current progress toward providing access to justice and ensuring inclusive and democratic institutions. Across 15 chapters, the book’s contributors explore the universal aspirations of Goal 16 and its specific implications for conflict-affected states, which continue to experience ‘development in reverse,’ and for historically marginalized groups such as women, youth, the disabled, and indigenous peoples. In doing so, it offers a comprehensive assessment of Goal 16’s broader contribution to the creation of a more just, peaceful world against the realities of societies emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic and grappling with a deepening climate crisis.
This volume will appeal to scholars, researchers, policymakers, and postgraduate students in sustainable development, global governance, international relations, global development, international law, and political science.
Introduction
1. Peaceful, Just, Inclusive? Unpacking the SDG 16 Agenda
Kirsten Van Houten and Alistair D. Edgar
Part I: The Universal Aspirations of Goal 16
2. Getting Peace and Security on the Development Agenda: The Evolution of a Contested Goal
Necla Tschirgi
3. Human Security and the SDGs: Rebalancing Security Discourse in a Pandemic World
Ryerson Christie
4. Strengthening the Rule of Law, Fighting Corruption
Thomas Stelzer and Eduard Ivanov
5. Access to Justice, the Rule of Law, and SDG 16: From Normative Struggle to Evolution
Kirsten Van Houten and Sarya Ross
Part II: Power and Participation
6. Disabled Persons Organisations’ Advocacy for SDG 16+: Levers for Change and/or Drops in a Neo-Liberal Bucket?
Stephen Baranyi
7. Gendered War, Gendered Peace: How the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda Contributes to SDG 16
Anaïs F. El-Amraoui and Stéfanie von Hlatky
8. Women and Peacebuilding in South Sudan: The Paradox of Gender Inclusion
Emmaculate Asige Liaga
9. Toward 2030: Synergies with SDG 16 and the Youth, Peace, and Security Agenda
Lynrose Jane D. Genon
10. Recognition and Protection of Indigenous Peoples’ Rights: A Prerequisite for Advancing Peace and Security
Terry Mitchell and Darren Thomas
Part III: Transitions from Conflict and the Politics of Inclusivity
11. Exiting the Fragility Trap: SDG 16 is the Key but Attaining it Remains Elusive
David Carment and Yiagadeesen Samy
12. Unpacking the Politics of Inclusion in Conflict-Affected Contexts
Timothy Donais and Abbas Imam
13. Trapped between Corruption and Cruelty: Inclusivity and Fragility in the MENA Region
Seyed Ali Hosseini
14. Local Peace Councils and the Politics of Inclusivity in Ghana
Eric Tanguay
15. Conclusion: Goal 16 and the Uncertain Future of Peace
Timothy Donais
Biography
Timothy Donais is an associate professor in the Department of Global Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University, where he teaches in the area of peace and conflict studies. He has also served as Director of the Masters in International Public Policy program, and Co-Director of the Ph.D. program in Global Governance, both at the Balsillie School of International Affairs. His research interests are focused on peacebuilding, protection of civilians, and security sector reform. Tim is the author of Peacebuilding and Local Ownership: Post-conflict Consensus Building (Routledge, 2012) and The Political Economy of Peacebuilding in Post-Dayton Bosnia (Routledge, 2005).
Alistair D. Edgar is an associate professor in the Department of Political Science at Wilfrid Laurier University and is cross-appointed to the Balsillie School of International Affairs. He teaches in the area of international relations and global governance. Recent publications include "The Changing Role of the United Nations in Managing Armed Conflict," in Fen Osler Hampson, Alpaslan Ozerdem and Jonathan Kent (eds.), Routledge Handbook of Peace, Security and Development (Routledge, 2020). He is co-editor of Global Governance: A Review of Multilateralism and International Organizations.
Kirsten Van Houten is a Postdoctoral Fellow in Human Rights at the University of Winnipeg and Manitoba Association of Rights and Liberties. She has worked as an academic and practitioner at the Human Rights and Peacebuilding Nexus, since completing her Ph.D. in International Development Studies at the University of Ottawa. She has worked with Canadian political parties and Non-Governmental Organizations to advocate for improved policy on peacebuilding. Her research interests include peacebuilding, civil society, human rights, state fragility, Canadian foreign policy, and gender equality. Regionally her work has focussed on Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia.
