NON-GOVERNMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY ORGANIZATIONS AS TRANSNATIONAL CONSERVATIONIST ACTORS

A THEORETICAL DISCUSSION ON (UN)SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND THE GLOBALIZATION OF CAPITALIST IDEALS

Abstract

The general objective of this article is to theoretically analyze sustainable development, based on the Brundtland Report, and the role of sustainability Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) as transnational actors. To this end, the methodology chosen to carry out the work is the explanatory qualitative one, using a bibliographic and documentary theoretical framework that addresses the themes of environment, sustainability, economy and international relations. Furthermore, the hypothesis of the work is that, with the end of the Cold War and the globalization of capitalist ideals throughout the international scenario, there was an ontological transformation in the models of sustainability NGOs, which began to act as an auxiliary tool in the neoliberal epistemic colonization. Therefore, the work is divided into three parts, aiming to: (1) conduct a theoretical debate between preservationists and conservationists and the conceptions of wilderness; (2) address the issue of development in the economy, its relationship with sustainability and the (un)sustainable critique; (3) seek to elucidate the role of NGOs as transnational actors in the promotion of capitalist ideals. Finally, the work aims to contribute to critical thinking in environmental studies in the Humanities and Social Sciences.