Conceptualize Sustainable Development
Topic: The politics of Sustainable Development
Dozen of years after the second millennium, people are witnessing a world with a high level of complexities, trans-boundary issues at a level of dysfunction that seem not to cease. Today, humankind is said to have a tendency to produce what they do not necessarily consume, and consume what they do not produce; as well as produce far more information than the capacity of any individuals to absorb (Mebratu 1998, UNEP 2012). The urges for changes throughout historical milestones and evolutions have led to a new, global concept ‘Sustainable Development’. Associating with the theory of ‘Three pillar’ addressing the fundamentally systematic aspects of humanity, sustainable development is identified as a solution for global transformation (R10). It is stated by Prugh & Assadourian (2003) that sustainable development is about “collective values and related choices, and therefore a political issues, almost certainly the supreme political issue of our century”, which requests us to delve deep in to understanding the notion of the term and its related ideas, particularly in political realm. ‘Political issue’ could be understood as a complicated situation or matter in relation with politics and often correlates to discourses, which facilitate evolutionary forces to rise from subduing (Flanagan, 1999). This paper attempts to define sustainable development; addressing relevant values, discourses and discover how its impacts on policy and practice are. In the following parts, it is important to value the ontology of sustainable development as a ‘political issue’, or indeed a ‘supreme political issue’. Lastly, the paper is concluded by the recommendation for changes towards sustainable development.
Understanding Sustainable Development First of all, it is crucial to fully grasp the notion of sustainable development – a more or less vague terminology in global perspectives (Mebratu 1998). The most remarkable definition of this
Dozen of years after the second millennium, people are witnessing a world with a high level of complexities, trans-boundary issues at a level of dysfunction that seem not to cease. Today, humankind is said to have a tendency to produce what they do not necessarily consume, and consume what they do not produce; as well as produce far more information than the capacity of any individuals to absorb (Mebratu 1998, UNEP 2012). The urges for changes throughout historical milestones and evolutions have led to a new, global concept ‘Sustainable Development’. Associating with the theory of ‘Three pillar’ addressing the fundamentally systematic aspects of humanity, sustainable development is identified as a solution for global transformation (R10). It is stated by Prugh & Assadourian (2003) that sustainable development is about “collective values and related choices, and therefore a political issues, almost certainly the supreme political issue of our century”, which requests us to delve deep in to understanding the notion of the term and its related ideas, particularly in political realm. ‘Political issue’ could be understood as a complicated situation or matter in relation with politics and often correlates to discourses, which facilitate evolutionary forces to rise from subduing (Flanagan, 1999). This paper attempts to define sustainable development; addressing relevant values, discourses and discover how its impacts on policy and practice are. In the following parts, it is important to value the ontology of sustainable development as a ‘political issue’, or indeed a ‘supreme political issue’. Lastly, the paper is concluded by the recommendation for changes towards sustainable development.
Understanding Sustainable Development First of all, it is crucial to fully grasp the notion of sustainable development – a more or less vague terminology in global perspectives (Mebratu 1998). The most remarkable definition of this