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Policy Analysis

Inclusivity and Integration: The new Sustainable Development Goals and a second chance for Bretton Woods

The Sustainable Development Goals have been dubbed “the Bretton Woods moment for our generation.” This paper explores some of the ideas and actors that shaped the earlier vision of the first Bretton Woods system, which laid the economic foundation and institutions of the post-Second World War period. 

By Scott Vaughan on September 24, 2015

Mary Robinson, the former president of Ireland, has dubbed the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) the “the Bretton Woods moment for our generation.”

This paper builds on that notion by exploring some of the ideas and actors that shaped the earlier vision of the first Bretton Woods system, which laid the economic foundation and institutions of the post-Second World War period. Arguing that these ideas were more diverse and inclusive than conventional wisdom has assumed, the paper connects that historical context with the present day challenge of implementing the SDGs.