Why Governance matters – The implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

Abstract

In 2015, the UN member states committed to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development that puts forward 17 comprehensive sustainable development goals (SDG) to be achieved by 2030. The success of this universal Agenda will depend on national implementation of each state that needs to deduce and implement own goals and indicators. However, since the Agenda is a non-binding agreement with no legal obligation, the question of why and under which conditions states comply with the Agenda is at stake. Since compliance at this early stage cannot be assessed yet this thesis approximates compliance with commitment to comply, indicating states’ motivation and effort to implement the SDGs. My theory puts forward the role of good governance and argues that states with better governance structures are more committed to comply with the Agenda 2030. To test this hypothesis, good governance structures from 77 countries were analyzed on the basis of qualitative surveys and expert interviews. By quantitatively testing the effect of good governance structures on states’ commitment to comply in all OECD countries this thesis finds empirical evidence that states with better governance structures are more committed to comply with the Agenda 2030. The findings imply that more focus should be put on establishing and improving good governance structures that institutionalize states’ effort to drive national implementation of the SDGs.