Exploring the concept of sustainable development : a non-scientific, growth-oriented, and anthropocentric ontology normalised in international law?

Abstract

References to sustainable development as an objective, goal, principle, or narrative are pervasive in law and policy documents at domestic, regional, and international levels. Nevertheless, the concept of sustainable development remains elusive due to, inter alia, the lack of clear definition for effective implementation, and the ongoing challenge of assessing its inherent sustainability. Against this background, this work aims at understanding to what extent the reliance on problematic conceptualisations of sustainable development has been progressively and aprioristically normalised in international law documents. Through documentary analysis, this work simultaneously clarifies why the concept of sustainable development is problematic and verifies its process of normalisation. Indeed, while tracing the origins of sustainable development, it sheds light upon the non-scientifically grounded ontology underpinning it and provides reflections upon the interests that its normalisation in law might serve. Findings reveal that while sustainability emerged from scholarly works, development and sustainable development largely originated from and crystallised in law and policy documents, reflecting the short-term interests of dominant actors. The study concludes that the reliance on the non-scientific, growth-oriented, and anthropocentric conceptualization of sustainable development might be inherently unsustainable. Meanwhile, traces of an alternative 'pure sustainability' paradigm continue sprouting in scholarly literature, and this opens some room for hope for a possible change.