After completing the research for my own podcast, discussing my findings with some of my peers, and listening to several of their podcasts, it appears to me that there are a few key factors that seem to be inhibiting or allowing for achievement of the SDG goals in the countries of the global south.

One of these such factors that I came across the most in my own research, as well as heard about from my peers, is corruption. Corruption seems to be a common issue that has been preventing countries like Bangladesh, which my podcast focused on, from achieving their SDG goals. Similarly to Bangladesh, Algeria, Turkey, and Egypt all have been less successful in the implementation of their SDG goals due to corruption in their respective governments. Obviously all countries have different SDG goals that are easier or more difficult for them to achieve for a variety of reasons, but in countries with corrupt governments, SDG 16 is one of the most difficult to accomplish. SDG 16 is arguably one of the most important of the SDGs, but it also creates a paradox. Corrupt governments cannot or will not strengthen institutions, and institutions cannot provide assistance to government corruption. This is something that Bangladesh struggles with immensely, because their government has deliberately taken actions that weaken institutions or prevent them from growing or expanding.

However, these states are also all struggling with other issues that prevent them from making progress with their SDGs. While many of the states I listened to podcasts about had issues that overlap (such as corruption), they all also have varying other factors that impede their progress. Algeria in particular has struggled to make progress due to a government that is not only corrupt but also weak. This is due in part to the fact that Algeria did not gain their independence until the 1960s. I think that many states in the Global South that have only recently gained independence, such as Algeria, are more likely to struggle with their SDG goals because they do not have strong established governments.