The Mediation of Sustainability - by Ben Harbisher (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

In 2015, the United Nations set out an ambitious plan under UN Resolution 70/1 to prioritize seventeen separate goals over a fifteen-year period to promote health, life, equality, and the environment.

The Sustainable Development Goals include ending poverty and hunger; reducing inequality; promoting good health and well-being; quality education; gender equality; clean water and sanitation; affordable and clean energy; decent work and economic growth; industry, innovation, and infrastructure; sustainable cities and communities; responsible consumption and production; climate action; life under water; life on land; peace, justice, and strong institutions; and developing partnerships to achieve these goals.

This book examines the way in which SDG initiatives have been disseminated by mainstream media, in government discourse and by NGO's, charitable organisations, and campaign groups. It questions to what extent sustainability narratives are being supported and how they are represented; how saving the environment can be made pertinent to someone who has no access to clean food or running water; and why local initiatives (in which indigenous populations are making a real difference) are overshadowed by multinationals whose attempts to rectify the damage their goods have done gains more credible reportage.

Contributors include Mariana Abreau, Rhys Davies, Jenifer Ere, Shiv Ganesh, Steven Graham, Ben Harbisher, Delayney Harness, Candy Marisol Hernandez, Richard Irwin, Julius Klingelhoefer, Jason Lee, Michel Leroy, Bárbara Lima, and Stuart Price.

Review Quotes

"Harbisher has collected 11 essays reviewing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals created by the United Nations under UN Resolution 70/1 to promote life, equality, health, and the environment. The Sustainable Development Goals include aspirations such as ending poverty and hunger, promoting health and well-being, ending gender inequality, creating sustainable cities and communities, and developing partnerships to work toward these goals. The book is divided into three sections, focusing on social theory and politics, journalistic mediation and framing, and sustainability and education. Recommended. Graduate students, faculty, and professionals." --Choice Reviews

"This volume makes an important contribution to a timely and long-standing issue: the promises and pitfalls of supranational attempts to tackle global vulnerabilities. Discussing the discourses surrounding these attempts and the exclusions they create, it is an essential reading for anyone interested in public policy, global inequalities, and social movements." --Nayia Kamenou, Department of Social and Political Sciences, University of Cyprus

"Ben Harbisher's book stands out as a rich and diverse collection of critical analyses about sustainability as a political concept and the mediation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals agenda. A valuable reading to problematise sustainability while debates shift away from dominant ideals of global progress and toward self-preservation instincts in post-pandemic societies." --Giuliana Tiripelli, digital journalism and media discourse, De Montfort University

"Ben Harbisher's book reveals the unsung heroes of the SDG initiatives and provides competing narratives against those promoted by the multinationals. It is a must-read book for anyone who is interested in uncovering the reality and ongoing struggles surrounding the implementation of SDGs among the stakeholders." --Rudi Sukander, LSPR Institute of Communication and Business, Jakarta, Indonesia

About the Author