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In e p e ing he Sus ainable De elopmen Goals h ough he Pe spec i es o U opia and
Go e nance
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Eskelinen, Teppo
Eskelinen, T. (2021). In e p e ing he Sus ainable De elopmen Goals h ough he Pe spec i es
o U opia and Go e nance. Fo um o De elopmen S udies, 48(2), 179-197.
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In e p e ing he Sus ainable De elopmen
Goals h ough he Pe spec i es o U opia and
Go e nance
Teppo Eskelinen
To ci e his a icle: Teppo Eskelinen (2021): In e p e ing he Sus ainable De elopmen Goals
h ough he Pe spec i es o U opia and Go e nance, Fo um o De elopmen S udies, DOI:
10.1080/08039410.2020.1867889
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In e p e ing he Sus ainable De elopmen Goals h ough he
Pe spec i es o U opia and Go e nance
Teppo Eskelinen
Depa men o Social Sciences and Philosophy, Uni e si y o Jy askyla, Jy askyla, Finland
ABSTRACT The a icle analyses he Sus ainable De elopmen Goals (SDGs)
om he pe spec i e o hei sel -unde s anding o poli ical sense exp essed in
key SDG documen s, including bo h UN documen s and epo s p oduced by indi-
idual coun ies. U opia and go e nance a e p esen ed as ideal- ypical app oaches
and analy ical ools o quali a i e con en analysis. This app oach is a gued o be
pa icula ly illumina ing in he case o poli ics o in e na ional de elopmen , as
in e na ional de elopmen is simul aneously highly u opian and deeply embedded
in a ionali ies o go e nance. As his analy ical amewo k is applied o he SDGs,
i is shown ha hei u opian p onouncemen s a e ela ed o he idea o humani y as
a single subjec , as well as inclusi e p ospe i y. On he o he hand, he SDGs a e
cu ailed by adhe ence o he ideas o con empo a y go e nance, he in e na ional
o de and gi en ideas o de elopmen economics. The findings and he me hod-
ology a e hen u he discussed in he b oade con ex o in e na ional
de elopmen .
Keywo ds: Sus ainable de elopmen goals; U opia; go e nance; Uni ed Na ions;
in e na ional de elopmen ; documen analysis
The poli ics o in e na ional de elopmen is in o med by landma k ag eemen s and
global goals. These ag eemen s and goals and hei implemen a ion in ol e ideas
no only abou desi ed policies bu also abou he e y sense and pu pose o de elop-
men . This a icle sugges s a concep ual amewo k o analysing such ideas, based on
he dis inc ion be ween u opia and go e nance. De elopmen is analysed as in ol ing
a con inuous ension be ween hese wo poli ical modes: on he one hand, i is cha ac-
e ized by a bold u opian ision o a di e en kind o wo ld, and on he o he by go -
e nance wi hou eal ans o ma i e poli ical powe . The a icle hen applies his
amewo k o he cu en Sus ainable De elopmen Goals (SDGs), and se s o
answe he esea ch ques ion: how do u opian ideas mani es in he SDGs, and how
a e hese ideas cu ailed by he implemen a i e logic o he SDGs?
The a icle p oceeds as ollows. The ollowing sec ion p esen s he s a ing poin s
and elabo a es he esea ch ques ion. Subsequen ly, he no ions o u opia and go e n-
ance a e p esen ed heo e ically and as a me hodological app oach. Then he da a and
© 2021 The Au ho (s). Published by In o ma UK Limi ed, ading as Taylo & F ancis G oup
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Fo um o De elopmen S udies, 2021
h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/08039410.2020.1867889
he me hod o analysis will be p esen ed. This is ollowed by a discussion o he analy-
sis esul s, di ided in o wo subsec ions: he u opian ideas o he SDGs and he imple-
men a i e o de o he SDGs. Finally, he findings a e syn hesized and discussed in he
Conclusions sec ion.
Ra ionale and backg ound
All de elopmen goals and policies, like any poli ical agendas, can be analysed by
unco e ing ideas abou hei sense (o pe cep ion o pu pose). The sense o poli ics
in ol es no only ideas abou he cons i u ion o socie y, bu also abou he logic o
social change. The e is a b oad a ie y o possible ways o ca ego izing such ideas,
bu he app oach sugges ed he e is o analyse hei no ma i e emphasis. The ideas
a e hen seen as placed on a con inuum be ween ideas ocused on wha -could-be
and hose ocused on o ganizing-wha -is. These (ideal- ypical) app oaches will be
called in his a icle ‘u opia’and ‘go e nance’. The analysis o such poli ical modes
in he con ex o global de elopmen goals hen means asking, wha kinds o modes
can be disce ned in key documen s desc ibing hei con en and cu en le el o
a ainmen .
I is necessa y fi s o define how ‘u opia’and ‘go e nance’can be unde s ood. In
i s ypical in e p e a ion, u opia e e s o an imagina y place ha is mo e desi able han
he one we cu en ly inhabi (Su in, 1997, pp.126–128). In his a icle, he concep o
u opia is used in a mo e specificme hodological sense. This means unde s anding
u opian men ali y as a gene al o ien a ion owa ds a be e socie y
1
, a he han a com-
p ehensi e imagina y econs i u ion o socie y (Le i as, 2013;2010). In an al e na i e
o mula ion, u opia means an exp ession o hope (Bloch, 1986): any hing ha
exp esses an o ien a ion o a desi e owa ds a quali a i ely be e mode o being,
can be pe cei ed as u opian in his sense. This s and o hough hen sees u opias
as p o iding a sense and di ec ion o socie al change, ‘a compass’(W igh , 2010).
In con as o u opian hough , go e nance is an en e p ise o o ganizing human
ac i i ies o p oduce gi en esul s. In he b oades defini ion, go e nance can be
used o e e o any se o pa e ns o ule, ye ypically i is used o e e o pa e ns
o ule cha ac e ized by he dependence o he s a e is upon o he agen s (Be i ,
2009). Indeed go e nance eme ged as a se ious objec o analysis in esea ch wi h
he ( eal o pe cei ed) ailu es o adi ionally unde s ood s a e so e eign y (Jessop,
2011) and he endency o poli ical powe o dispe se (Mille and Rose 2008). So
while go e nance can be unde s ood as any p ocesses o go e ning, he concep is
used below in he mo e specific sense o o ganizing ac i i ies in a eali y whe e pol-
i ical powe adi ionally associa ed wi h so e eign y is absen . Go e nance, as
opposed o go e nmen ( adi ional s a e so e eign y e ec i ely ma e ializing a
1 Acco ding o some au ho s on u opias, seeking u opias should be seen as inhe en human
‘p opensi y’(Manuel and Manuel, 1979, p.5).
2 T. ESKELINEN
poli ical will h ough a op-down implemen a ion appa a us), hen means manoeu ing
in a mul i-ac o eali y wi hou a single locus o powe . I ypically u ilizes app oaches
such as ne wo ks, co-o dina ion, communica ion, and pa ne ships. As a poli ical
mode, go e nance means ecognising loca ions and ela ions o powe as hey a e cu -
en ly unde s ood, and ying o sol e socie al p oblems by a emp s o align he in e -
es s o he ecognised agen s.
This idea o go e nance is also eflec ed in he in e p e a ions o success ul
implemen a ion, which ha e gene ally shi ed om pu ing policy in o e ec , in o
‘ge ing some hing done’by a a ie y o possible means (Ba e and Fudge, 1981,
p.258; Hill and Hupe, 2002, p.56). Depending on pe spec i e, hese app oaches o go -
e nance can be seen as p agma ic (‘pe o mance o e ides con o mance’) o simply a
depoli icizing endency (‘ aking poli ics ou o policy’).
2
These a e eflec ed in he
ypical policy jus ifica ion na a i e in con empo a y go e nance, which highligh s
apoli icised da a, e alua ion and moni o ing, a he han legi ima ion o poli ical
powe , o abs ac and isiona y ideas o be e socie y.
U opia and go e nance can hen be seen as opposi e poli ical modes. U opia
exp esses he desi e o change he immedia ely exis ing social eali y in o some hing
quali a i ely be e , while go e nance means aking exis ing en i ies and ela ions as
gi en and ying o co-o dina e hem, in o med by apoli ical da a, o o ganise
socie y. As such, he ca ego ies a e ideal- ypical
3
: ha dly any hing is pu ely u opian
o me e go e nance. Bu as ideal ypes, hey o e a concep ual basis o an analysis
o poli ical modes.
Pa icula i ies o he no ion o de elopmen
While any poli ical p ac ice in ol es he pe spec i es o bo h u opia and go e nance,
in e na ional de elopmen s ands ou as a pa icula ly illumina ing case. This is
because o he du a ion o i s exis ence, in e na ional de elopmen has bo h in ol ed
e y high ambi ions and bold ideas ega ding he u u e o humani y, and has been
o ced o ope a e h ough a dispe sed sys em o implemen a ion, wi h limi ed
powe s o pu ing hese ambi ious ideas in o p ac ice.
In e na ional de elopmen has he endency o see i s poli ical subjec (and objec )
o be no smalle han he whole humani y, as a subjec wi h a common des iny. Many
o he exp essions o i s pu pose ha e emphasised sha ed esponsibili y and called o
emaking he wo ld as i exis s. Indeed he en e p ise can be seen as mo i a ed by he
e y idea o human p og ess, e y deeply embedded in enligh enmen and mode ni y
(on he idea o p og ess, see Nisbe , 1994).
Pe haps he mos iconic s a ing poin o in e na ional de elopmen was he ‘Poin
Fou speech’in 1949 by US p esiden o he ime, Ha y T uman. In his enown
2 Fo a c i icism o os ensibly non-poli ical endencies, see Edwa ds and Klees, 2014.
3 On he concep o ideal- ypes and hei me hodological uses, see Bu ge , 1987.
FORUM FOR DEVELOPMENT STUDIES 3

speech, T uman called o ‘a bold new p og am o making he benefi s o […] scien-
ific ad ances and indus ial p og ess a ailable o he imp o emen and g ow h o
unde de eloped a eas’(Sachs, 1992), p ac ically ini ia ing in e na ional de elopmen .
Ano he amous p onouncemen wi h an explici u opian o ien a ion was he ini ial UN
cha e , an ‘in e na ional machine y o he p omo ion o he economic and social
ad ancemen o all peoples’(Jolly e al., 2004, pp.5–6). The goals a icula ed in he
UN cha e , based on he ca ego ies o s anda ds o li ing, solu ions o in e na ional
economic and social p oblems, and uni e sal espec o human igh s (UN, 1945,
chap 1, a 1(4)), ha e indeed been seen as ‘a he ime b ea h aking in hei boldness’
(Jolly e al., 2004, p.6).
This app oach o ‘ hinking big’has been pa o de elopmen discou se e e since,
and especially he discou se o he UN, which has epea edly been able o p oduce
ambi ious ideas (Weiss, 2010). The ‘de elopmen decade’o he 1960s in ol ed
b oad aspi a ions on he global imp o emen o condi ions o human li e (Jolly
e al., 2004, p.88). A la e p onouncemen om 1986, he decla a ion on ‘ he igh
o de elopmen ’(Jolly e al., 2004, p.3; UN 1986), es a ed de elopmen no only
as a sha ed goal, bu also as a igh o bo h na ions and indi iduals. Mo e ecen ly,
he Millennium De elopmen Goals (MDG), e ec i e 2000–2015, sough o ‘libe a e
humani y om po e y’, seeking o accomplish his h ough a ‘Big Push’s a egy. In
he con ex o he MDGs, economis and UN ad iso Je ey Sachs decla ed in 2006,
ha he end o po e y was ‘an economic possibili y o ou ime’(Sachs, 2006).
While some c i ics ha e seen hese ambi ious ideas abou ‘de elopmen ’as concealing
he deepening o ma ke ela ions (Ris , 1997) and ma ke subjec i i ies (Illich, 1997)
o essen ially excuses o in e en ions based on a specific wes e n wo ld iew
(Escoba , 1995), he u opian sen imen is in any case e y eal.
Bu despi e hese ambi ious ideas, in e na ional de elopmen is a bu eauc a ic and
p agma ic en e p ise, assuming wha e e p io i ies and app oaches go e nance migh
ha e a he gi en ime. The de elopmen appa a us is ypically no ans o ma i e in
he sense o emodelling go e nance s uc u es o he poli ical space, bu a he di us-
ing in o he exis ing ones. Indeed he agenda can only ma e ialise h ough an exis ing
sys em o go e nance. This is mo e han an ‘implemen a ion p oblem’, as i o ien s he
sel -unde s anding o he en e p ise in o he sphe e o guidelines, co-o dina ion, indi-
ca o s, and e alua ions, oge he wi h a gene al cos –benefi app oach o socie al
change. While de elopmen aid has o en been c i icized o ailu es in implemen-
a ion (e.g. Dich e , 2003; Eas e ly, 2006), a mo e accu a e poin o c i icism is ha
in e na ional de elopmen unde s ands implemen a ion h ough wha e e hegemonic
ideas o implemen a ion exis .
The con as ing poli ical modes o u opia and go e nance a e hen no simply
al e na i es o ex emes wi hin a con inuum. Cu iously, hey end o coexis wi hin
de elopmen policy, e en o he poin o mu ual dependency. One could a gue, o
example, ha he Millennium Goals decla a ion in 2000 was he b igh es single
momen o global de elopmen . I syn hesized he ou comes o a decade o op
4 T. ESKELINEN
summi s, exp essed an unp eceden ed deg ee o consensus, and fi mly defined ex eme
po e y as an e il ha can and will be o e come. I any hing, i exp essed humani y
uni ing unde a ision o i s u u e. Ye he MDG decla a ion was p econdi ioned –
indeed in i s e y exis ence –on a s anda dized and echnical, and deeply non- ans-
o ma i e, idea o p oblems and hei emedies, chiefly because o he s a is ical and
a omizing app oach ela ed o he basic needs hough , which was assumed as he
basis o he MDGs.
Cu en ly, global de elopmen policy is in o med by he SDGs (UN 2019). E ec-
i e in 2015 and consis ing o 17 specific sub-goals, hey con inue and expand he poli-
ics o MDGs.
4
Simila ly o he MDGs, hey a icula e a se o global goals wi h a se o
indica o s, o which all UN membe s ha e commi ed hemsel es. The goals include
specific a ge s especially on po e y educ ion, basic se ices and en i onmen al p o-
ec ion, expanding he scope o he la gely po e y- ocused MDGs.
5
The clea es
di e ence o he MDGs is he inc eased a en ion o en i onmen al ma e s, al hough
he e y no ion o sus ainable de elopmen has always been c i icised o e i s empha-
sis on economic a he han ecological a ionali y (Bane jee, 2003), suspec ed o lead
o ecological o e shoo a he han ecological balance (Lau ensach and Lau ensach,
2013). Some au ho s ha e also highligh ed he SDG emphasis on ‘go e nance
h ough goals’, meaning ha he goals as such play a majo ole in compa ison o
he ac ual ins i u ional a angemen s o in es men s, and ha he goal-se ing
p ocess as such is gi en much emphasis (Bie mann e al., 2017).
Below, he SDGs a e explo ed om he pe spec i e explica ed abo e: he ques ion
is, how do u opianism and go e nance a ionali y mani es in he SDG documen s and
how could he SDGs be in e p e ed as a ension and in e play be ween hese poli ical
modes.
Da a and analysis me hod
The da a used in his s udy consis s o a se o SDG- ela ed documen s. They o m
h ee se s o subda a. Fi s , he SDG decla a ion i sel . Second, in o ma ion documen s
on he con en and meaning o he SDGs p oduced by he UN and he UNDP (Uni ed
Na ions De elopmen P og amme). These documen s we e chosen amongs a limi ed
body o da a, based on judgemen o ele ance. The hi d subse o da a consis s o
olun a y na ional epo s (VNRs) on p og ess on SDGs, om he Uni ed Kingdom,
Sou h A ica and Tanzania. The a ionale o choosing he documen s p oduced by
hese pa icula coun ies ollowed a logic o a ailabili y and ep esen a i eness.
The olun a y e iews a e cu en ly no nume ous compa ed o he numbe o
4 Fo a mo e de ailed analysis on he sho om he MDGs o SDGs, see Fukuda-Pa (2016).
Fo a c i ical accoun , see Ca an (2017).
5 On policy-making h ough global goals, see Kanie and Bie mann (2017); Fukuda-Pa
(2014).
FORUM FOR DEVELOPMENT STUDIES 5
signa o ies o he SDGs. Amongs he exis ing ones, one epo was chosen o ep-
esen each adi ional ‘de elopmen le el ca ego y’: one ‘de eloping coun y’(Tan-
zania), one ‘middle-income coun y’(Sou h A ica) and one ‘de eloped’o adi ional
dono coun y (Uni ed Kingdom). Combined, he documen s con ained abou 1,000
pages, which means ha he hi d da ase was by a he la ges .
As o a c i ical no e on he da a, i is an open ques ion, how accu a ely epo s o
he kind used in his s udy display he eali y o he sel -pe cep ion o a field o poli ics.
While answe ing his ques ion is no wi hin he scope o his s udy, i should be no ed
ha documen s o hese kinds a e key ools o exp ession o con empo a y ins i-
u ions. Indeed ‘i is exac ly he w i en documen which ep esen s he mos ubiqui-
ous o m o knowledge p oduc ion wi hin mode n ins i u ions, such as hospi als,
schools, nu sing homes, policy and mili a y depa men s, cou s and social wel a e
agencies’(Pa on, 2002). This means ha he policy documen is no only an epis emo-
logical objec , bu is o be unde s ood as a na u al e e ence poin on how he mode n
ins i u ion ela es o he wo ld: hey exp ess, legi ima e and ela e h ough he policy
documen . Some imes ins i u ional ex s a e e en seen as he basis o con empo a y
sense making, as hey help us cons uc , sus ain, con es and change he sense o
social eali y (Mille , 1997). On his basis is can be assumed, ha such documen s,
as ools o exp ession, legi ima ion and ela ion, p o ide a ele an sou ce o in o -
ma ion o analysing he poli ical mode(s). Pa icula ly he VNRs ha e also been
widely u ilized in ea lie esea ch, o example on how hey add ess gende equali y
(Oda, 2019), heal h issues (Bickle e al., 2020), in e linkages and in eg a ion o he
SDG a ge s (Allen e al., 2018) o he ela i e impo ance o indi idual a ge s (Sebes-
yén e al., 2020).
The da a was analysed employing a con en analysis / close eading app oach.
Con en analysis gene ally is a b oad ca ego y, mos ly e e ing o he ca e ul and sys-
ema ic analysis o da a and i s o ganisa ion in o pa e ns and hemes (Be g, 2009,
p.338; Leedy and O m od, 2005). He e, his o ganisa ion ollowed he a o emen ioned
esea ch p oblem o disce ning he poli ical mode in he documen s, which necessi-
a ed an analysis on how gi en p oblems, issues and solu ions a e amed and ep-
esen ed. In o he wo ds, a close eading analysis on he poli ical mode in
documen s seeks o deciphe ways o exp ession ha illumina e he unde lying
ideas o he sense o he p ac ice.
These ypical app oaches o con en analysis we e in o med by an app oach a ising
om he no ion o ‘u opia as me hod’: applying he so called ‘a cheological mode’o
u opian s udies (Le i as, 2013) in he analysis. This means iden i ying u opian
elemen s in di e en kinds o ex s, including ex s ypically seen as me ely echnical.
Such analysis pieces oge he u opian elemen s embedded o example in poli ical p o-
g ammes and social and economic policies (Le i as, 2013, p.153), coming close o so
called ‘u opian he meneu ics’, ha aims o find u opian elemen s in all a eas o human
cul u e (Bloch, 1986; Kellne , 1997; Jameson, 1979). Seen his way, u opian analysis
is a o m o close eading: a he han loca ing pa e ns and clus e s gene ally, such
6 T. ESKELINEN
analyses pays pa icula a en ion o loca ing elemen s looking (and d eaming) beyond
he cu en ly exis ing, in any kind o ex s. A simila app oach was used in he case o
go e nance, al hough close eading o disce n go e nance men ali y has no so expli-
ci ly been sys ema ized as a me hod.
The analysis p ocess in ol ed se e al phases. The fi s phase consis ed o gene al
amilia iza ion wi h he documen s. This was ollowed by he second phase, in which
equency o keywo ds ypical o a gi en poli ical mode was analysed. The keywo ds
a e isualized in Figu es 1 and 2. The hi d and final phase consis ed o he iden ifi-
ca ion o gene al ca ego ies and hemes (Be g, 2009, pp.350–352). The second and
hi d phase we e no simply successi e: keywo ds as hey a e ‘clus e ed’(K ippen-
do , 1980, pp.116–117)
6
in o med hemes, bu he disce ned hemes ed back in o
unde s anding he ele an keywo ds, which again cla ified he hemes –and so
o h. The analysis equi ed assuming such eflexi i y.
While i is clea ha he SDG decla a ion shows mo e examples o he u opian
mode han he VNRs, he aim o he analysis was no o compa e he decla a ion
and he implemen a ion documen s. Ra he , all documen s we e analysed wi h he
same ools, and all ca ego isa ions ex end o e all subse s o da a. These ca ego is-
a ions we e made on he basis o poli ical mode a he han on he basis o subs ance,
in o he wo ds hema ic ca ego ies we e iden ified only o he ex en ha hey we e
ele an o he analysis o he modes. As a u he poin , he analysis o he hemes
in he ex pa ially equi ed disce ning he ‘la en con en ’(as opposed o mani es
Figu e 1: Keywo ds ela ed o he u opian mode.
6 Clus e ing seeks o g oup o lump oge he objec s o a iables ha sha e some obse ed qual-
i ies, o ganised in o ca ego ies (Be g 2009, pp.350–352).
FORUM FOR DEVELOPMENT STUDIES 7
he co e ac i i ies o go e nmen ’, as well as in decisions on he need o new pol-
icies. Some imes alk on da a assumes an emancipa o y discou se, as comp ehensi e
da a is seen as ‘necessa y o achie e lea ing no one behind and o make he in isible
isible’.
Assuming he de elopmen economics pa adigm
In addi ion o a gi en idea o go e nance, he documen s en ail a gi en idea o econ-
omic a ionali y, exp essed ei he explici ly o implici ly. The economic logic o
naming p oblems and aming expe ise (Mille and Rose, 2008) gains p ominence
in he amewo k o go e nance discussed abo e: indeed con empo a y go e nance
has some imes been called ‘a o m o democ a ic go e nmen , which gua an ees he
dominance o he ules o economics o e hose o poli ics’(F isch ak, 1994). In
he analysis o he SDG documen s, he in e es ing aspec is exac ly wha he ‘ ules’
o economics a e seen o consis o , in o he wo ds wha is seen as sel -e iden ly
good policy a he han con es ed ideas.
The economic ideas en ailed in he documen s could pe haps be bes desc ibed as
‘neolibe al economism wi h good social policy’.By‘neolibe al economism’I e e o
bo h an app oach and a policy p og amme. App oach-wise, he ocus is e y poin edly
in a adi ional concep ion o g ow h: indus ializa ion and in as uc u e, including
communica ion echnology, domina e he image y o ‘de eloping’.
10
Some imes
his is exp essed by no ing ha economic g ow h is essen ial o o e coming global
po e y and o allowing human po en ial o flou ish, bu in any case ‘g ow h’is he
dominan s a ing poin o he con en o ‘ o de elop’.
The poli ical p og amme aspec can be desc ibed as neolibe alism. This means an
abundance o alk abou compe i i e sec o s, a ‘ ib an ’p i a e sec o , b eaking ca els
and p omo ing compe i ion h ough limi ing he size and influence o s a e-owned
en e p ises (seen as ‘g ow h accele a o ’). Fu he , he economic p og amme o
de elopmen is seen o in ol e p omo ing labou ma ke e o ms o inc ease flexi-
bili y, aking a s a k expo o ien a ion and en o cing fiscal discipline. All in all, he
desi ed economic o de is seen o pu emphasis on ma ke i ues o flexibili y and
compe i ion, along wi h explici and inflexible ules bo h na ionally and in e na ion-
ally. Seen in e ms o compe i ion-gene a ed equilib ium, i is di ficul o see how
an u opian elemen could be accommoda ed in o a policy amewo k poin ed so
s ongly owa ds libe aliza ion as he final s age o pe ec compe i ion.
11
Cu iously, he p i a e sec o is seen as bo h a p io i y in de elopmen and a subjec
b inging abou desi ed social change. Business clima e/en i onmen is discussed
epea edly, some imes by emphasising policy ce ain y and engagemen wi h he
10 On he adi ional concep ion o de elopmen and i s c i icism, see Sachs (1992) and Ris
(1997).
11 Fo ea lie accoun s on he neolibe al unde pinnings o he SDGs, see Webe (2017) and
Ca an (2017)
14 T. ESKELINEN

p i a e sec o . The ole o business also ex ends o a s ong emphasis on public-p i a e
financing o in as uc u e and he eby gi ing ‘g ea e oppo uni ies o he p i a e
sec o ’. Gene ally, p i a e sec o ac o s a e ‘encou aged’, a he han egula ed.
Na u ally, ‘neolibe al economism wi h good social policy’in ol es he social
policy side as well. This means po e y educ ion in a qui e adi ional sense,
accompanied wi h a isible in e es in cash ans e s. The documen s gene ally ecog-
nise he need o ‘go e nmen in es men s alloca ed o p o-poo sec o s’in he o m o
condi ional g an s. These ans e s a e ypically jus ified by e e ence o people li ing
in ex eme po e y, hus basically being means o li ing people om he mos humi-
lia ing and li e- h ea ening o ms o po e y, ye no necessa ily mo e.
So he idea o economic good p ac ice communica ed in he documen s can be
sho ly desc ibed as ollows. People should be li ed abo e he lowes po e y lines,
bu he economy by la ge (labou ma ke included) should be libe alized o allow
o ee-ma ke compe i ion. Fu he , ‘ he economy’is egula ly p esen ed as ha ing
p imacy o e he ac ual de elopmen goals, despi e being seen as unc ional in
po e y educ ion. Fo example, educa ion when discussed in he con ex o he
economy, is p esen ed as ‘supplying sophis ica ed skills’, impo an because ‘low
skill le els cons ain p oduc i i y and g ow h’. This one is a clea opposi e o
seeing educa ion as such o be good o human li e.
Conclusion and discussion
The discussion abo e aimed o shed ligh on he poli ical mode(s) isible in he SDGs
documen s and he eby he sel -unde s anding o he SDGs. Employing an empi ical
(documen ) analysis, he analysis abo e used u opia as an analy ical ool, unco e ing
and displaying u opian elemen s in poli ical ex s. This app oach ollows he ‘a cheo-
logical mode’o u opian analysis. As an opposi e o he u opian mode, he concep o
go e nance was employed in a simila ashion bo h as a name o an ideal- ype and as
an analy ical concep . Bo h elemen s a e p esen in policy documen s, and a quali a i e
close eading needs o be employed o disce n and ca ego ize hem.
I was shown ha he poli ics o he SDGs in ol e a no ewo hy ension. The SDGs
include highly u opian elemen s, as hey p omo e he idea o humani y as a single
subjec wi h a common des iny, lean on highly ans o ma i e alues and seek a
u u e cha ac e ized by inclusi e p ospe i y, o a u u e ee om he e il o
po e y. Bu simul aneously hey a e cas in a highly con as ing logic o implemen-
a ion. This logic o implemen a ion includes he ea fi ma ion o he exis ing poli ical
o de and poli ical space, exace ba ed by an ‘indica o cul u e’, and gene ally assumes
a gi en idea o ne wo ked go e nance and economic a ionali y, which can limi
po en ial socie al change significan ly. This app oach is based on aking as gi en
he exis ing poli ical agen s, powe ela ions, and sys ems o o ganisa ion ( he
na ion s a e), and seeking he socie al change p onounced by he SDGs by co-o dina -
ing and aligning hese exis ing powe s.
FORUM FOR DEVELOPMENT STUDIES 15
Beyond hei no ewo hy u opian spi i , he SDGs could be seen as global poli ics
wi hou global means. They a e cas poli ically in o a eali y in which hey a e no
a ached o any en i y wi h poli ical powe adi ionally unde s ood. Ra he , hei
a ainmen is expec ed o ake place wi hin a amewo k o implemen a ion la gely
based on a emp s o align he ac i i ies o mul iple agen s by means o co-o dina ion
such as s a egies and isions. Qui e like he MDGs, his a ainmen is also g ounded
on a da a-d i en idea o go e nance which conceals he unde lying poli ics (Fukuda-
Pa and McNeill, 2019): moni o ing, e alua ion and impac assessmen a he han
ans o ma ion. While de elopmen poli ics ha e o long been c i icized o he exces-
si e powe o he key ins i u ions (B e on Woods P ojec , 2020; Donlagic and
Koza ic, 2010), such as he Wo ld Bank, he challenge o he SDGs can u n ou o
be he opposi e: he lack o powe o implemen a ion.
Fu he mo e, he documen s analysed abo e a e s ikingly de oid o many aspec s
o poli ical alk. The e is sho age o e e ences o ma e s such as libe ies, democ-
acy, media, poli ical conflic , socie al ans o ma ion, powe ela ions; empowe men ,
eedom, eflexi e / c i ical skills, ansi ion, conflic ing ideas o de elopmen , poli i-
cal disag eemen s, classes and so o h. Also he discou se on pa icipa ion is weak
beyond pa icipa ion o he SDG p ocess i sel : he ocus is clea ly in p o ision
ins ead o claims.
I was u he a gued ha he concep ual ools used, while applicable o any quali-
a i e policy documen analysis, a e pa icula ly sui able o sc u inising he poli ics o
de elopmen . Indeed he e y en e p ise o de elopmen can be seen as an ongoing
in e play and ension be ween u opia and go e nance, as was no ed in he abo e dis-
cussion on he his o y o de elopmen and pa icula ly he MDGs. The SDGs con inue
his adi ion o being e y hick in bo h poli ical modes: en isioning g and u u es o
humani y bu immedia ely es ic ing hei ealisa ion by hei a achmen o go e n-
ance based on co-o dina ion o exis ing ac i i ies.
The analysis abo e should no be in e p e ed as signalling ha he ela ion be ween
he u opian mode and he go e nance mode is fixed. On he con a y, de elopmen
poli ics can in ol e ins ances in which a window o edefining his balance in o a
mo e u opian di ec ion opens. Fo ins ance, he MDGs, as no ed, we e a highly
u opian en e p ise. While i simul aneously in oduced a echnical concep ion o
po e y and da a-d i en poli ics, qui e di e en kinds o app oaches we e on he
able in he p ocess o he build-up owa ds he MDGs.
12
. E en he basic needs ame-
wo k seemed o be mo e open o non- echnical app oaches in i s ini ial phases, in ol-
ing o ins ance he idea ha basic needs o ien ed policy implies pa icipa ion (Jolly
e al., 2004, p.25; ILO, 1976, p.32). Pe haps oday, he ‘implemen ing pa ne s’could
12 Fo ins ance he Copenhagen Wo ld Summi on Social De elopmen in 1995 sough o
g ound de elopmen policy on he idea o he globaliza ion o he wel a e s a e ( o pu a
long s o y sho ) (Wiman e al., 2007), and was only la e side acked by he quan i a i e
and clea ly less ans o ma i e basic needs app oach.
16 T. ESKELINEN
o m cons ella ions ha begin o o m new poli ical spaces, o pe haps ‘ he economy’
could assume new meanings. In he e a o he SDGs, qui e like be o e, u opias and go -
e nance con inue o be in a dynamic ela ion. Unde s anding his dynamism, which bo h
can open and close poli ical spaces, assis s ou unde s anding o ‘de elopmen ’in gene al.
No es on con ibu o
Teppo Eskelinen is Senio Lec u e in de elopmen s udies a he Uni e si y o Jy äskylä,
Finland. His esea ch ocuses on global poli ical economy, global jus ice, de elopmen
heo y, po e y, and democ acy.
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