Sustainable Development Goal 16 and the Global Governance of Violence: Critical Reflections on the Uncertain Future of Peace

This book brings together a diverse range of scholars and practitioners working at the nexus of peace and development to reflect, at the mid-way point of the Sustainable Development Goals implementation period, what impact Goal 16 has made, or may yet make, toward reducing violence in ’all its forms.’

Adopted in 2015, the Sustainable Development Goals include 17 objectives designed to shape and direct the global development agenda through to 2030, with Goal 16 aiming to promote ’peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development.’ Amidst an ongoing global pandemic, evidence of a fracturing liberal international order, and the persistence of seemingly intractable conflict in large parts of the world, this volume takes stock of current progress toward providing access to justice and ensuring inclusive and democratic institutions. Across 15 chapters, the book’s contributors explore the universal aspirations of Goal 16 and its specific implications for conflict-affected states, which continue to experience ’development in reverse,’ and for historically marginalized groups such as women, youth, the disabled, and indigenous peoples. In doing so, it offers a comprehensive assessment of Goal 16’s broader contribution to the creation of a more just, peaceful world against the realities of societies emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic and grappling with a deepening climate crisis.

This volume will appeal to scholars, researchers, policymakers, and postgraduate students in sustainable development, global governance, international relations, global development, international law, and political science.

Timothy Donais is an associate professor in the Department of Global Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University, where he teaches in the area of peace and conflict studies. He has also served as Director of the Masters in International Public Policy program, and Co-Director of the Ph.D. program in Global Governance, both at the Balsillie School of International Affairs. His research interests are focused on peacebuilding, protection of civilians, and security sector reform. Tim is the author of Peacebuilding and Local Ownership: Post-conflict Consensus Building (Routledge, 2012) and The Political Economy of Peacebuilding in Post-Dayton Bosnia (Routledge, 2005).

Alistair D. Edgar is an associate professor in the Department of Political Science at Wilfrid Laurier University and is cross-appointed to the Balsillie School of International Affairs. He teaches in the area of international relations and global governance. Recent publications include "The Changing Role of the United Nations in Managing Armed Conflict," in Fen Osler Hampson, Alpaslan Ozerdem and Jonathan Kent (eds.), Routledge Handbook of Peace, Security and Development (Routledge, 2020). He is co-editor of Global Governance: A Review of Multilateralism and International Organizations.

Kirsten Van Houten is a Postdoctoral Fellow in Human Rights at the University of Winnipeg and Manitoba Association of Rights and Liberties. She has worked as an academic and practitioner at the Human Rights and Peacebuilding Nexus, since completing her Ph.D. in International Development Studies at the University of Ottawa. She has worked with Canadian political parties and Non-Governmental Organizations to advocate for improved policy on peacebuilding. Her research interests include peacebuilding, civil society, human rights, state fragility, Canadian foreign policy, and gender equality. Regionally her work has focussed on Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia.