1. Introduction

This book analyses the notion of sustainability, its contents and the public policies related to it as part of the global governance scenario. It attempts to be a renewed enquiry of the (almost worn-out) issue of sustainable development by shedding light into methodological difficulties of traditional disciplinary approaches when addressing the neglected cultural and educational aspects of sustainability. More fundamentally, the book tries to provide legal, political, social, culture and education scholars, guidance for a future research agenda on the necessary systemic changes in education and cultural institutions for a real transformation of society under the premises of the UN Global Agenda 2030. The topic has been neglected by legal scholarship so far, but sustainability policies are bound to fail without addressing educational and cultural systemic adjustments. The book opens with an introduction. Chapter 2 focuses on a critical outline of sustainability, and stands up for new methodological approaches. Chapter 3 consists of a critical overview of the European Union sustainability model, examining its normative and political basis grounded on a strong environmental integration of sectorial policies, neglecting more transformative systemic and social dimensions of sustainability. The common’s discourse and the ecological aspects are brought into conversation with other governance approaches that are instrumental and crucial to face cultural and educational challenges today. Chapter 4 tries to present education and culture as drivers for a deep transformation illustrating the growing recognition of this idea in some international agreements. Chapter 5 puts together sustainability concept and sustainability policies and the cultural and educational ideas behind those strategies. It shows the fragmented policy scenario and it tries to demonstrate that despite strong international consensus in the role education and culture have for ecological transition, there remains space for legal scholarship to engage in more subversive discourses prompting the necessary legal framework for a systemic change. Some case studies bring evidence of this. Chapter 6 closes the analysis with some concluding remarks.