Governing Sustainable Development through ‘Policy Coherence’? The production and circulation of knowledge in the EU and the OECD

Abstract

This article studies the production and circulation of approaches for sustainable development governance focusing on the ‗Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development‘ (PCSD) concept. The concept has evolved from a side note international reports to a central target in the 2030 Agenda (SDG 17). The first part compares the understanding of ‗Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development‘ in the OECD and in the EU which were essential in its emergence and dissemination. The second part relates these findings to the policy environment in which knowledge on the concept was promoted. The article argues that organisational interests contributed to the proliferation of PCSD while its added-value for sustainable development governance remains controversial.

Keywords: international organisations, policy transfer, sustainable development, coherence, OECD, EU, knowledge circulation