The Missing Link in Sustainable Development in Africa – Where are we now and what more needs to be done?
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Date
2017-12
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Ghana Social Science Journal
Abstract
Inclusiveness is an old concept or notion of the discipline of Political
Science. The ―good society‖ at the heart of politics, which was envisaged
by the Greek philosophers (Socrates, Plato and Aristotle - regarded as the
father of Political Science as opposed to Plato who is sometimes
classified as the first political philosopher) implies the ―incorporation of
all citizens into the process of their own governance‖ (Chazan 2015: 1).
Consequently, in exploring politics one gains a better understanding of
―what is – and what is not – in the public interest‖ (Magstadt 2013: 18).
Inclusiveness has its roots in human rights, inequality, redistribution,
rural development, entitlements and capabilities concepts (Sen 1999;
Thorbecke 2006; Easterly 2007; Gupta and Baud 2015) and has been
expressed in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) (Collier
2007). It has been a long-standing feature of human rights based
approaches (HRBAs) to development as represented in the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966), UN
Declaration on the Right to Development (1986), UN Convention on the
Rights of the Child (1989) and the Convention on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities (2006) (Arts 2017). In addition, inclusiveness has
gained prominence in general international development fora, most
notably as a central element of the Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs) (specifically Goal 16) that are the heart of the global United Nations (UN) development agenda for the period 2016–2030 (UN
General Assembly 2015; Gupta et. al. 2016).
Description
Ghana Social Science Journal, 14(2)