The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a broad set of 17 goals that all UN member states strive to achieve in the future. Not every member is growing closer to achieving success at the same rate though. National and international factors empower certain states of the global south to make greater strides in their progress than others. To better understand this phenomenon, we will be looking into these factors and their effects on Indonesia, Botswana, and Algeria.

Beginning with national factors, it is important to note that each of these states has implemented several policies that have contributed to their SDG progress with varying levels of success. For example, Indonesia has passed several laws since 2004 which promote and protect the human rights of women within the nation, Botswana has implemented policies to reduce land degradation caused by cattle grazing, albeit rather unsuccessfully, and Algeria’s military takeover of the government has reduced the prevalence of terrorism within the nation. These policies and strategies were all shaped by each state’s unique economic, social, and political contexts. National policies are only a piece of the puzzle though.

Turning to the International factors that affect the three nations, varying levels of international aid and cooperation have contributed to each state’s progress toward the SDGs. In Indonesia, the government is working with the UN Development Program to implement higher-quality education and media coverage to promote a shift toward a more accepting society. In Botswana, the government has worked with international health organizations to be the first nation in sub-Saharan Africa to offer life-saving HIV/AIDs medication. In Algeria, a history of terrorism has lead to what is functionally a military regime taking over the government as well as the economy. Each of these different international players, along with many more, have allowed these nations to make both positive and negative moves toward SDGs. Each of these different experiences with international factors has been shaped by two things. First, the geopolitical interest of partner-countries, like the countries that buy oil from Algeria. Second, the ability of each country to utilize the aid they are given. National and International factors are not independent though, they tend to play off each other.

The relationship between national and international factors when it comes to achieving SDGs is a rather complex one. A positive example of this relationship can be seen in Indonesia’s relationship with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Due to the nation’s large strides toward eliminating corruption and fostering strong institutions, Indonesia has become a leader in the ASEAN. In this leadership role, Indonesia has worked with other international governments to reduce crimes of various types, primarily gender and hate-based crimes, as well as reduce carbon-emissions within the region. Not all national/international relationships have positive outcomes though. For example, after Botswana achieved independence in 1966 from Great Britain, the nation found that the historic prevalence of colonial powers left the newly founded government unable to rule effectively. This ineffective government and rather weak institutions are a large part of what led Botswana to be as ineffective in achieving the SDGs as they have been. Overall, interactions between international and national factors have been shaped by myriad factors, primarily the alignment of policies within a nation with the priorities of international aid priorities and the ability of each country to utilize the aid they are given effectively.

In conclusion, each of the three states discussed above strive to achieve the same 17 SDGs; however, their unique national/international factors have lead them each to have varying levels of success. As discussed above, Indonesia has made great stides towards achieving SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Instituions, as well as SDG 5: Gender Equality; however, its national dependencies are causing it to fall behind in its achievement of SDG 13: Climate Action. Botswana, with the aid of international factors, has made progress toward achieving SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being; however, the previously discussed weak institutions and prevalence of corruption have hindered their progress toward addressing many other SDGs. Algeria has made progress toward addressing SDG 4: Quality Education; however, the influence of the military in the government and economy has hindered the nation’s progress toward addressing SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth, and SDG 16. As can be seen in these three examples, it is apparent that International Relations scholars must pay attention to national and international factors in contributing to SDG progress globally. Simply put, a heightened emphasis on these factors is necessary if the SDGs are to be attained by each UN member by the goal date of 2030.