Cities as actors in the building of Sustainable Development Goals.
Considering the increasing relevance of discussions on the topic of sustainable development, the research aims to understand how the cities of São Paulo, Cape Town and Beijing participated in the process of shaping the Sustainable Development Goals – Agenda 2030. Using the concept of “complex interdependence” by Keohane and Nye, the research will seek to demonstrate how actors other than national states – more specifically cities – are increasingly important for shaping international policies aimed at sustainable development. Here, the main hypothesis is that the cities mentioned participated in the process of developing the SDGs in different ways, through multiple channels and in discussions about specific Objectives, mainly those linked to urban issues. In this scenario, the main mechanisms of participation are through their national states or through transnational networks of cities, through the Global Task Force of Local Governments.