Introduction to Peace and the Sustainable Development Goals

Abstract:

This introduction frames peace as a foundational condition for achieving sustainable development rather than a standalone policy objective confined to SDG 16. It situates the 2030 Agenda within a changing global context marked by rising violence, inequality, and environmental stress, and reviews evidence showing how armed conflict systematically undermines progress across economic, social, and institutional dimensions of development. Tracing the shift from the Millennium Development Goals to the Sustainable Development Goals, the chapter highlights the significance of integrating peace, governance, and justice into global development frameworks. It also discusses key challenges in measuring peace-related outcomes, including data gaps, self-reporting biases, and limits of quantification. The introduction concludes by outlining the structure of the volume and arguing that future development agendas must more explicitly integrate peace as a cross-cutting determinant of long-term, inclusive progress.

Authors:

Stefan Döring, Kristina Petrova and Håvard Hegre