US President Trump’s stance on Iran nuclear deal and North Korea's threat implies a trend of prioritising individual national interests above the shared global objectives.
In this protectionist context, achieving global goals like the Sustainable Development Goals has become highly uncertain.
What are the unfavourable developments?
Most of the advanced countries are confronting with serious fiscal constraints.
'Politics' and 'economics', many a times, are not complementing each other and thus are further complicating the welfare measures.
The rising migration provides larger scope for spreading the political stress and instability of one country into other countries.
The growing problem of refugees in many parts of the world is evidential of this trend.
The rising dominance of knowledge-intensive technology leaves a possibility of making less-privileged groups, classes, sectors, and regions struggle to compete.
The SDGs have always had challenges in terms technological disruption, geopolitical rivalry, and widening social inequality.
In addition to these, the rising populist demands for nationalist policies, including trade protectionism, have intensified these challenges considerably.
All these developments are increasingly eroding the faith of the downtrodden on the development orthodoxy of good governance and SDGs as a solution to many global challenges.
What is required?
The SDGs aim at relieving some global pressures, by protecting the environment and improving the lives of people within their home countries.
It requires countries to cooperate and exhibit responsible politics and a much stronger social consensus.
There is a need for a fundamental shift in the mindset of the countries, from one of competition tocooperation.
Multilateral institutions intended at this purpose should be upgraded and restructured to meet and decide on these global development challenges and goals like the SDGs.