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Country Reporting on the Sustainable Development Goals—The Politics of Performance Review at the Global-National Nexus

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  • Magdalena Bexell
  • Kristina Jönsson

Abstract

With the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), debates on governance through goal-setting and performance review have gained momentum. In this article, we explore how the politics of performance review played out in public sustainable development reporting at the global-national nexus. By examining the case of Swedish reporting to the United Nations High Level Political Forum in 2017, we find policy translation, accountability preparation and identity formation to be key functions of SDG reporting. We draw attention to the performative and political features of these functions in the sustainable development realm. With a fast approaching deadline, policy translation of global indicators to the national context glossed over politically contentious issues. Reporting served to enable peer review among governments rather than hierarchical accountability of domestic politics. Moreover, the identity formation function of SDG reporting was strong on the international stage while domestically it was challenged by broader political struggles. In conclusion, our study bears witness of the formative power of public reporting for SDG governance. We call for comparative research to allow for further theory-building on the politics of public reporting on sustainable development.

Suggested Citation

  • Magdalena Bexell & Kristina Jönsson, 2019. "Country Reporting on the Sustainable Development Goals—The Politics of Performance Review at the Global-National Nexus," Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(4), pages 403-417, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:jhudca:v:20:y:2019:i:4:p:403-417
    DOI: 10.1080/19452829.2018.1544544
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    Cited by:

    1. Frank Biermann & Thomas Hickmann & Carole-Anne Sénit & Marianne Beisheim & Steven Bernstein & Pamela Chasek & Leonie Grob & Rakhyun E. Kim & Louis J. Kotzé & Måns Nilsson & Andrea Ordóñez Llanos & Chu, 2022. "Scientific evidence on the political impact of the Sustainable Development Goals," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 5(9), pages 795-800, September.
    2. Marianne Beisheim & Felicitas Fritzsche, 2022. "The UN High‐Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development: An orchestrator, more or less?," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 13(5), pages 683-693, November.
    3. Oda Hustad, 2023. "From global goal to local development policy: How partnerships as a policy idea changes through policy translation," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 41(2), March.
    4. Eduardo Amaral Haddad & Inácio Fernandes de Araújo & Vinícius de Almeida Vale & Henry Duque Sandoval & Paola Andrea Garizado Roman & Lilian Andrea Carrillo Rodríguez & Elizabeth Aponte Jaramillo & Lei, 2021. "Dimensions of local development in the Colombian Pacific Region," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(4), pages 1348-1370, August.

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