Universality and Ambition in the Post‐2015 Development Agenda: A Comparison of Global and National Targets

Abstract The post‐2015 moment is a moment in time in which multiple efforts are being made to envision a better long‐term future for humanity and to forge, post‐2015, a new and different global development trajectory. The replacement of the Millennium Development Goals by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is occurring in the shadow of the global financial crisis and the reaching of planetary boundaries that define a safe operating space for humanity. There is thus a need not only for new global goals but also a new global development paradigm. The papers in this special issue examine the SDGs in the making and indicate the extent to which they may be associated with a new global development paradigm. They identify key weaknesses in the emerging SDGs in terms of the articulation of global and local priorities, the failure to address the synergies and trade‐offs between different goals and the lack of an underlying policy framework. They also suggest that to be effective, new global goals require new global rules. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.