Abstract
The central tenet of sustainable development resides in the concept of equity and social justice for all. The notion of sustainable development must be flexible and dynamic to accommodate ecological and social realities. Sustainable development, primarily, is a process of transformative change, but it occurs only in an enabling environment supported by robust institutions and a set of rules that must be adhered to. The challenge of a multilateral governance relates to the issues of governing the ‘commons’ based on set global agendas, legitimate principle of common actions, and a bringing together of global communities to commit to a process of implementing change at the local, national, and international levels. There must be coordinated state actions to materialise the dream of green economy and development into reality. In the African context the challenge of a new social contract resides mostly on balancing environmental and demographic concerns in the structural transformation process.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Castree, N. (2003). The Geopolitics of Nature. In J. Agnew, K. Mitchell, & G. Toal (Eds.), A Companion to Political Geography (pp. 423–439). Oxford: Blackwell.
Cervellati, M. (2005). Hobbes to Rousseau: Inequality, Institutions and Development. Issue 1450 of Discussion Paper, IZA.
ECA. (2009). African Governance Report II. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Goldin, I. (Ed.). (2016). Is the Planet Full? Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Happaerts, S. (2012). Sustainable Development and Subnational Governments: Going beyond Symbolic Politics? Environmental Development, 4, 2–17.
Hasenclever, A., Mayer, P., & Rittberger, V. (1997). Theories of International Regimes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Holling, C. S. (1973). Resilience and Stability of Ecological Systems. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 4, 1–23.
Kates, R. W. (2001). Sustainability Science. Science, 292(5517), 641–642.
Kates, R. W., & Dasgupta, P. (2007). African Poverty: A Grand Challenge for Sustainability Science. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 104(43), 16747–16750.
Nayyar, D. (2010). Trade and Globalization. Mumbai: Oxford University Press.
Newman, L. (2006). Change, Uncertainty, and Futures of Sustainable Development. Futures, 38(5), 633–637.
North, D. (1990). Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance, Political Economy of Institutions and Decisions. St. Louis: Washington University.
Papa, M., & Gleason, N. (2012). Major Emerging Powers in Sustainable Development. Global Environmental Change, 22(4), 915–924.
Paterson, M. (2001). Understanding Global Environmental Politics: Domination, Accumulation, Resistance. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Rawls, J. A. (1971). Theory of Justice. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press.
Rousseau, J. J. (1761). Julie.
Rousseau, J. J. (1762a). Emile.
Rousseau, J. J. (1762b). The Social Contract and Discourses.
Rousseau, J. J. (1789). The Confessions 1782–1789.
Sen, A. (2009). The Idea of Justice. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Vogler, J., & Hannes, S. (2007). The European Union in Global Environmental Governance: Leadership in the Making? International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, 7(4), 389–413.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Lopes, C. (2019). Revisiting the Social Contract. In: Africa in Transformation. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01291-5_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01291-5_7
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-01290-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-01291-5
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)