Sustainable Development Disciplines for Humanity

This chapter uses the method of the history of political thought to analyze the relationship between poverty and ideologies. Three major ideologies which have influenced government policies regarding poverty in modern welfare history will be analyzed: liberalism, exclusionism, and social democracy. This chapter uses the historical case of Britain in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to examine what these ideologies said about government social policy as a way of alleviating poverty, and how support for (or antagonism against) the welfare state grew therefrom. It was found that in Britain, a new version of liberal ideology that incorporated some elements of social democracy appeared and contributed to the expansion of the welfare state in the early twentieth century. From the analysis in this chapter, three conclusions can be drawn for the first goal of the SDGs. First, in order to eliminate relative poverty in developed countries, it is necessary to recognize the variety of interpretation different ideologies have given to poverty as a social problem. Second, to increase the influence of a particular ideology, consideration should be given to the path dependence of originally rooted cultural factors, for example, the strength of liberal ideology in the case of modern British politics. Third, a comprehensive discourse that spans science, philosophy, and policy is required in order to gain broad support for a particular ideology.

The aspiration of the Goal 3 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to “ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages” is derived from both the “right to health” norm in the field of international human rights and the “health for all (HFA)” goal in the field of international development. The principle of “Leave no one behind” in achieving the SDGs is logically endorsed both by the right to health and the HFA. First, communicable diseases have become perceived as a threat to “human security” in global health, and Japan started to use the concept in global health diplomacy to elevate the level of dialogues. Nevertheless, Ebola Virus Disease and COVID-19, not anticipated when the SDGs were adopted, now urge us to re-visit the needs to reform global health governance. Second, to promote universal health coverage (UHC), international partnership has been strengthened. In 2019, at the G20 Summit, Japan played an important role in promoting the UHC among the twenty members. This led to an expanded international commitment made at UN High-Level Meeting on UHC in the same year. It shows that global health has become an important agenda for diplomacy.

Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4) aims to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”. This chapter describes the historical development of SDG4 by tracing the history of three fundamental approaches to international education development underlying the goal: education for peace, education as a human right and education for socio-economic development. The approaches are then used to frame discussion of three prominent academic debates and perspectives in research in educational development: (1) the external and internal efficiency of education; (2) “education for development”, “educational development” and “education and development” and (3) dependency theory and modernization theory. SDG4 is then considered within the framework of these approaches and perspectives. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the challenges and possible solutions for the realization of SDG4.

Education was positioned as Goal 4 (i.e., SDG4) in SDGs. SDG4 aims to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.” The lack of education and the inability to read and write often limit access to information and disadvantage the livelihoods of people. From the perspective of acquiring knowledge and skills, along with developing human resources, it is clear that the elements of education are present across all 17 SDGs. In other words, education is a cross-cutting discipline that influences a variety of areas (Kitamura et al. 2014) and, as such, plays an important role in achieving all SDGs. The main objective of this chapter is to examine “inclusive and equitable quality education.” First, this chapter provides a brief overview of international trends in educational cooperation from 1945 to 2015, covering the Education for All (EFA), Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and SDGs. It then discusses “inclusive and equitable quality education,” the core of SDG4. It specifically addresses discussions on equity, inclusion, and the quality of education. Furthermore, the quality of education is examined from four perspectives: school environment, educational attainment, learning achievement, and non-cognitive skills. This chapter also presents the case of education for children with disabilities in Ethiopia.

[This chapter was written by modifying the following chapter: Tonegawa Y (2018) “Kokusai kyouiku kyouryoku (International cooperation in education)” in Yamada M (ed) Atarashii kokusai kyouryoku ron (New international cooperation theory), Revised edition, Akashi Shoten, Tokyo]

This chapter focuses on the relationship between Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 and higher education. Higher education has traditionally been expected to play three significant roles: education, research, and social contribution. However, due to globalization, these societal roles and expectations are gradually evolving. There are two targets under SDG 4 that are directly related to higher education. Target 4.3 aims to “ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational, and tertiary education, including university.” It is noteworthy that the target mentions not only accessibility to higher education, but also quality. Additionally, the Times Higher Education released the Impact Ranking and visualized a university’s global performance, which assesses universities according to the framework of SDGs. Japan was the most represented nation in 2019, highlighting Japanese universities’ active efforts to work on global issues. While various efforts have been made to achieve the indicators of SDG targets, the global impact of COVID-19 has provided a significant opportunity for the role of higher education to be reconsidered. Considering this background, this chapter introduces various activities and initiatives at Japanese higher education institutions, such as the Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS), which promotes international joint research on global issues. Finally, this chapter presents the further expected roles and challenges for higher education in society through the indirect spillover effects on the other goals of the SDGs.

This chapter helps readers unfamiliar with sociology to obtain a concrete picture of what a sociological approach to development is. It presents arguments based not only on previous research in the English-speaking world, but also on research trends in Japan. Sociological studies of development can be divided into two fields based on their disciplinary origins and research orientation: ‘Sociology of Development’ and ‘Development Sociology’. First, this chapter explains the difference between these research areas. Furthermore, as a case study, the issue of displacement and resettlement induced by dam construction is presented to examine what kind of sociological analysis has been conducted in these research areas. Accordingly, the author presents research perspectives that are considered unique to sociology in development issues: power relations among actors at development sites; secondary, indirect, mid-, and long-term impacts of development projects; macro–micro linkages among international, national, and regional transformations; and values, culture, and discourse on development. Finally, a discussion is presented on the role of sociological research in the debate on sustainability and how it can play a significant part.

As Peace Studies is interdisciplinary subject, this chapter especially focuses on three main aspects: democratization, development, and peace. These are very important factors for keeping on a peaceful society. Therefore, we must cooperate for solving such challenges because we are facing with serious issues resulted from three areas. In concrete, democratic system is confronted by authoritarianism. The regime against human rights is increasing worldwide as well as in Asia. We get the news on election operation without a free and fair guarantee. It generally means there were irregularities at the polls. In the case of development, we are facing with the income disparity inside a country, as well as among states. Finally, the policy seeking the interests of own country like ‘America First’ sweep across worldwide. Therefore, we must promote the peace on human rights based on international harmony and cooperation. This chapter discusses to remove various obstacles as mentioned above. And then, the actors such as government, the UN, regional organization, and non-governmental organization (NGO) must take charge of the role of promoting peaceful world because they need to cooperate for realization of SDGs Goal 16, based on peace, justice, and strong institutions.

Target 16.5 of SDGs aims to “Substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all their forms.” It is widely accepted in economics that corruption aggravates the overall economic performance of a society. However, previous studies have also shown that firms providing bribes to public officials are likely to record higher sales growth, while public officials undoubtedly enjoy extra income or entertainment. Domestic and international actors have fought against corruption for long, but most of these efforts have failed, mainly due to the reluctance of public officials who benefit from the entangled networks of corruption. Corruption has become an equilibrium of the interactions of a variety of societal actors, which is thus considered a social institution. Historically, all societies were corrupt by today’s standards, but some of them have successfully overcome the hardship of escaping the equilibrium of corruption, achieving a more transparent society. The examples of such societies include Britain, the United States, Hong Kong and Singapore. These cases indicate that the strong political will of powerful elites is necessary for successful transitions. Many developing countries do not meet such conditions, which is a strait gate for a fair and transparent society.

Human trafficking needs to be addressed globally. It is designated as an important part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Human trafficking can be defined as a by-product of a negative circle caused by several social and economic problems that reciprocally affect each other in a complex manner. Global systematic exploitation, widening inequality, domestic or international social problems, and human rights issues lead to it. Considering the features of human trafficking, this chapter attempts to examine methods to reduce it using SDGs. This study mainly considers SDGs 5, 8, 10, 16, and 17 by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). This paper also tries to discuss it considering the goals and the following perspectives to propose possible solutions to the problems: First, the actions the international society has taken to eradicate the crime. Second, further understanding human trafficking. Finally, how SDGs can be adopted in the context of current human trafficking.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were launched to promote partnerships to enhance developmental effectiveness. This is especially apparent in Goal 17. The private sector is one of the prospective partners for the realisation of a sustainable society. Collaboration with it has accelerated internationally to challenge various development issues through businesses. This trend is impelled by both the public and private sectors, whose activities have different aims and purposes. Both multilateral and bilateral donors, including Japan, have planned and implemented various development projects in collaboration with untraditional partners, such as corporations. This chapter examines how partnerships with the private sector have been formed, focusing on Japan. First, it briefly studies international initiatives to understand the process by which previously separated entities—public and private sectors—gradually move closer to solve development problems. It then explores the way the Government of Japan and the Japan International Cooperation Agency, who are responsible for the public sector, have come to create or support projects in collaboration with companies. Their shift in the direction of international development responds to international calls for sustainable development. The chapter concludes by discussing the prospect of partnership with the private sector to realise the sustainable future that the SDGs aim to create.

In the age of globalization when people around the world must work together to deal with common challenges, global histories with the intention to create “global citizens” are essential. Therefore, reviewing the “new historiography” advocated by Liang Qichao and creating a “neo-new historiography” that is compatible with the age of globalization and can contribute to “reconciliation studies” and the sustainable global partnership should not be a task for China alone. The goal of no. SDGs17 is to “activate the global partnership toward sustainable development.” However, in East Asia, to establish such a partnership and make it work, it is necessary to build trust as a precondition. To build trust in this region, “history” must be overcome. However, the history of perpetration and victimization has been politicized, casting a shadow on the trust between nations and their peoples. This chapter aims to propose methods to build the global partnership by seeking solutions to the “history problem” that extends outside the realm of “historiography.”