Leadership for the SDGs: Why foreign policy must recharge multilateral cooperation now

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set out a powerful vision for a better world, but action since 2015 is not delivering that promise. Foreign policy practitioners are in a unique position to help advocate for and assist in the implementation of the SDGs. Given that the SDGs and foreign policy want to achieve the same things – stability, peace and prosperity on a healthy planet – delivering them should be seen as a litmus test for the effectiveness of foreign policy in the twenty-first century. Oli Brown and Stella Schaller explain in their essay how this essential symbiosis can be achieved.

adelphi's volume "Driving Transformative Change:Foreign Affairs and the 2030 Agenda", comprised by 6 provocative essays, explores what contributions foreign policy can make on the road to achieving sustainable ways of life and provide guidance by pointing out entry points, priorities and trade-offs. They aim to inspire actors around the world to work together to initiate and boost the necessary changes and keep winning over new like-minded partners.

More essays from the series

• Beyond 16: The SDGs and the opportunity to build a more peaceful world
• Beware the politics: Leveraging Foreign Policy for SDG Implementation
• Managing the trade-offs of transformation through foreign policy
• Worth Every Cent: Smarter Approaches to Addressing Fragility
• Beyond Rhetoric: Why Foreign Policy Needs to Foster Private Sector SDG Implementation