Introduction to the special issue Local Development for Peace and Social Sustainability

Abstract

The special issue Local Development for Peace and Social Sustainability is focused on the complex relationship between these three concepts, at various levels, taking into account the point of view of the United Nations on Sustainable Development Goals and Human Rights. The main objective of the Special Issue is to present articles – empirical, theoretical, policy-essays and cases – applying two research methods: quantitative and qualitative. The fact that the articles have been written by authors – academics, researchers – from different parts of the planet, Latin America, Europe, and Asia, allows for a more global perspective, by exhibiting the different social, cultural, and political diversities of social sustainability and peace for local development. It also takes into account the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic. To achieve this aim, we shall begin by making a theoretical review of these three concepts from a multidimensional and interdisciplinary perspective, respecting the diversity of the different contexts. During the last 30 years of the Twentieth Century, the discussion of sustainable development was focused on the need to secure a more wholesome natural environment for future generations; yet, it was at the end of the XX century that the international community began to acknowledge the fact that – apart from environmental protection – the central aim had to be the enhancement of human capabilities, together with the improvement of the population’s quality of life. Human development, understood as an equitable and permanent improvement of human quality, was regarded as an end in itself – for the advance of human development, would ensure a more wholesome relationship with the external environment (Anand & Sen, 2000). Biggeri and Ferrannini (2014) define development as multidimensional, multilevel, and dynamic processes, involving multistakeholder as well as multiple local and extra-local relations; for every local development strategy particularly calls for dialogue, consensus of all the political actors, collaboration from different levels of public administration, as well as from the joint work of public and private sectors (Di Pietro Paolo, 2003). It is crucial to acknowledge that local development does not simply depend on local efforts; effective development trajectories can be pursued only if various levels are involved and aligned toward the achievement of common goals (Biggeri & Ferrannini, 2014).