Cluster of Research Excellence (CORE) : Politics of Sustainable Development

The Africa – Europe Cluster of Research Excellence (CoRE) on the Politics of Sustainable Development is a collaborative research hub that brings together expertise across the social sciences, humanities, natural sciences and law to strengthen the interface between science, policy and practice. The CoRE advances research that informs societal transformation towards long-term sustainability.

Through a dynamic network of knowledge partners—including senior researchers, policymakers, doctoral candidates and early-career scholars, the CoRE supports evidence-based policymaking to address climate and sustainability challenges in African and global contexts.

Launched in 2023, the CoRE on the Politics of Sustainable Development is co-led by Future Africa at the University of Pretoria and the University of Oslo.

Research Pillars

The CoRE is organised around several interconnected research pillars that explore critical dimensions of the politics of sustainability. Collectively, these pillars provide a holistic framework for understanding and shaping the governance of sustainable development:

• Democratic governance, political leadership and just transitions
• The geopolitics of sustainability and global finance reform
• Global South perspectives on sustainability
• The science–policy–practice nexus
• Power, inequality and sustainable development
• Earth system governance and planetary boundaries
• Reforming the SDGs for political and institutional impact
• Differentiated responsibilities in sustainability governance
• Legalisation of key sustainable development commitments
• Institutional innovations for sustainable development
• Subnational and local sustainability governance

Collaborative PhD Programme

The CoRE also leads a Collaborative PhD Programme on the Politics of Sustainable Development currently hosted at the Centre for Sustainable Development at Addis Ababa University. The programme supports 24 PhD candidates across two cohorts and focuses on interdisciplinary research aligned with the SDGs and the African Union’s Agenda 2063, with an emphasis on governance and the science–policy–practice interface.

For more information, visit the dedicated CoRE website.