1st Edition

An Analysis of The Brundtland Commission's Our Common Future

By Ksenia Gerasimova Copyright 2017
    112 Pages
    by Macat Library

    112 Pages
    by Macat Library

    Our Common Future is a joint work produced in 1987 by a United Nations commission headed by former Norwegian Prime Minister, Gro Brundtland. Also known as The Brundtland Report, it offers a classic approach to problem solving by first asking a productive question.

    How do we protect the world we live in for future generations, while at the same time stimulating economic and social development right now? The solution the work proposes is “sustainable development”, defined in the report as humanity’s ability “to ensure that it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” The key conclusion the report came to – that we need long-term strategies to manage the earth’s natural resources – proved to be so universally welcomed it introduced the term “sustainability” into the everyday language of international politics. Solving the problem of workable sustainable development became a hot topic, leading to the birth of a new academic discipline, environmental economics. The book offered a solution to the problem of ensuring sustainable development by highlighting the critical importance of international cooperation.

    Ways in to the Text  

    Who is Gro Brundtland? 

    What does Our Common Future Say?  

    Why does Our Common Future Matter? 

    Section 1: Influences 

    Module 1: The Author and the Historical Context  

    Module 2: Academic Context  

    Module 3: The Problem 

    Module 4: The Author's Contribution  

    Section 2: Ideas  

    Module 5: Main Ideas 

    Module 6: Secondary Ideas 

    Module 7: Achievement  

    Module 8: Place in the Author's Work  

    Section 3: Impact 

    Module 9: The First Responses 

    Module 10: The Evolving Debate  

    Module 11: Impact and Influence Today  

    Module 12: Where Next? 

    Glossary of Terms  

    People Mentioned in the Text  

    Works Cited

    Biography

    Dr Ksenia Gerasimova holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge, where she is currently an Affiliated Lecturer at the Centre for Development Studies.