Khushwant Singh, Head of the PaRD Secretariat, has authored a chapter in Religion & Development (Vol. 3, Issue 2, 2024), titled “Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships in Global Affairs: Learnings from the International Partnership on Religion and Sustainable Development in Times of Polycrisis.”
Religion and Development
In recent years, an interdisciplinary research field exploring the nexus between religion and development has taken shape. An expanding body of literature is examining the diverse relationships and interactions between these two domains. The topic attracts broad academic interest, with research spanning religious studies, theology, anthropology, sociology, political science, economics, and development studies.
Religion and Development aims to advance this field by publishing original, peer-reviewed research. As an interdisciplinary journal, it welcomes contributions from across the social sciences and humanities.
Multi-stakeholder Partnerships
Multi-stakeholder partnerships have gained attention since the 2002 World Summit and are reflected in SDG 17, which calls for strengthened partnerships. While faith-based actors are not explicitly mentioned in the SDGs, Singh notes SDG 17 implies long-term collaboration with them. The 2024 UN Pact for the Future affirms this by explicitly including faith-based organizations among key partners in Action 55 on Partnership.
New Publication on Learnings from PaRD
The chapter on Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships in Global Affairs argues that coordinated and multilayered cross-sectoral collaborated is required to contribute to sustainable development and respond to the global polycrisis characterized by human-made destruction of the environment, climate change and globalization. Pandemics, regional wars, and banking crises not only create local suffering but increasingly have international consequences, threatening the progress made, be it regarding poverty, education, health, or human rights. The article outlines the potential of multi-stakeholder partnerships as inclusive mechanisms of collaboration in global affairs by exemplarily outlining learnings from the International Partnership on Religion and Sustainable Development (PaRD). Despite the promising potential and contributions of PaRD, the article illustrates the need to overcome the principal problem of imbalanced power allocation in global affairs, as decisions at a global level are usually made by governments, with stakeholders from civil society being involved in pre-consultations but remaining without decision-making power.
Outlook
In the outlook, Singh writes that the investment of time and resources has arguably added value for PaRD members and partners. Yet, PaRD could take on a more active global role – in mediation and reconciliation, creating spaces for unifying values that respect diversity, and fostering inclusive collaboration across sectors and generations. It could also support alternative models of development, such as a globally binding holistic well-being index rooted in scientific evidence and spiritual wisdom – one that values well-being over income or exploitative growth. Further independent, interdisciplinary research would deepen understanding of MSPs.
The article is available for download here.
The full volume of Religion and Development is available for download here.
