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Driving Transformative Change: Foreign Affairs and the 2030 Agenda

Publication: Analysis

The challenges facing the international community are growing while the willingness to cooperate seems to be waning and unilateral action at times gets in the way of joint solutions. Foreign policy can pave the way for transformative change by actively supporting a major achievement of multilateralism: the 2030 Agenda with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These goals have a common aim: more peace and justice worldwide. But what exactly is the role of foreign policy in the global sustainability architecture? What are the fields of engagement and tools of a new ‘Diplomacy for Sustainability’?

Driving Transformative Change: Foreign Affairs and the 2030 Agenda explores what contributions foreign policy can make on the road to achieving sustainable ways of life and provide guidance by pointing out entry points, priorities and trade-offs. They aim to inspire actors around the world to work together to initiate and boost the necessary changes and keep winning over new like-minded partners.

The volume comprises six incisive essays which highlight different foreign policy approaches to the SDGs, including an essay by CIC Senior Fellow David Steven and Non-Resident Fellow Rachel Locke entitled Beyond 16: The SDGS and the Opportunity to Build a More Peaceful World. 

You can find the full volume on the Adelphi website here.

Full list of essays

  • Leadership for the SDGs: Why Foreign Policy Must Recharge Multilateral Cooperation Now – by Oli Brown (Chatham House) and Stella Schaller (adelphi)
  • Beyond 16: The SDGS and the Opportunity to Build a More Peaceful World – By David Steven (Center on International Cooperation, NYU), Rachel Locke (Center on International Cooperation, NYU) and Lukas Rüttinger (adelphi)
  • Beware the Politics: Leveraging Foreign Policy for SDG Implementation – By Daria Ivleva (adelphi), Alexander Müller (TMG Think Tank for Sustainability), and Benjamin Pohl (adelphi)
  • Managing the Trade-Offs of Transformation Through Foreign Policy – By Clare Church (IISD), Alec Crawford (IISD) and Stella Schaller (adelphi)
  • Worth Every Cent: Smarter Approaches to Addressing Fragility – By Sara Batmanglich (OECD)
  • Beyond Rhetoric: Why Foreign Policy Needs to Foster Private Sector SDG Implementation – By Benno Keppner (adelphi), Daniel Weiß (adelphi) Pietro Bertazzi (CDP), and Bibiana García (adelphi)

More Resources

  • Blog October 12, 2026 Global Governance

    Electing ICJ Judges: The Complex Battle for a Seat on the World’s Highest Court

    This piece utlines the process for electing five new judges to the International Court of Justice that is forthcoming next month (November 2026) at the United Nations. The International Court of Justice was established as a principal organ of the United Nations at the same time that the UN itself was established in 1945, and its statute was adopted when the UN Charter was adopted.

    Headshot of a person with gray/white hair and a collared shirt.
    Mark Simonoff
  • Foreign Policy in Focus uses analysis from Thibault Camelli and Ronny Patz's policy brief, How to End the United Nations’ Current Financial Crisis… and Prevent Future Ones, published earlier this year to inform this piece on the United Nations' current financial state.

    Source: Foreign Policy in Focus, October 6, 2026

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