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Farewell and See You Again Soon: The Millennium Development Goals and the Prospects of the Neoliberal Development Project

Formulating the SDGs: Reproducing or Reimagining State-Centered Development?

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Abstract

Reformulation of the millennium development goals comes at a time when their realization is falling short. ‘Development as usual’ through global goal setting is in question in context of the recent conjunction of global food, energy, and financial crises. Given the evidence of problematic world-scale restructuring, it is puzzling that SDG visioning continues to assign principal responsibility to states for the post-2015 development agenda. We regard this as an epistemic blind spot that foregoes an opportunity to reorient planning to accommodate the global dimensions of these crises—and their possible solutions. In particular, we note that current forms of land enclosure, and migrant labor generation, are inadequately addressed by state-centric measures, especially with respect to the rights of land users and stateless workers. We offer recommendations for complementing and modifying nationally generated metrics with a more empowering agenda.

Extracto – La reformulación de las Metas de Desarrollo del Milenio llega en un momento en que su realización se está quedando corta. El “Desarrollo como siempre” por medio de la determinación de metas globales está siendo cuestionado dentro del contexto de la reciente conjunción dela crisis de alimento global, energía y financiera. Dada la evidencia de una problemática restructuración a escala mundial, es inquietante que la visión de las SGD continúe asignando responsabilidad principal a los estados para el desarrollo de la agenda post-2015. Consideramos que esto es un punto epistémico ciego que deja pasar una oportunidad para reorientar la planeación y acomodar las dimensiones globales de estas crisis –y sus posibles soluciones. En particular, notamos que las actuales formas de cerramiento de tierras y la generación de empleo migrante, son tratadas en forma inadecuada por medio de medidas centradas en el estado, especialmente respecto a los derechos de los usuarios de la tierra y de los trabajadores sin patria. Ofrecemos recomendaciones para la complementación y modificación de mediciones generadas domésticamente, dentro de una agenda con mayor empoderamiento.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kathleen Sexsmith is Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Development Sociology at the Cornell University. Her doctoral research examines labor migration from rural Mexico and Central America to dairy farming regions of New York, and the impacts of US immigration policy on working immigrant youth. She collaborates with the Cornell Farmworker Program, Worker Justice Center of New York, and Workers' Center of Central New York.

Notes on contributors

Philip McMichael is Professor and Chair of the Department of Development Sociology. His research is on the contemporary agrarian question, including land grabbing and agrarian resistances. He has authored Food regimes and agrarian questions (2013) and Development and social change: A global perspective (Sage, 2012, 5th edn.) and edited Contesting development: Critical struggles for social change (Routledge, 2010). He currently works with the Civil Society Mechanism of the FAO's Committee on World Food Security.

 

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