ABSTRACT
It has been hotly debated whether the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg was a disappointment or if it produced some useful results after all.
An assessment of whether WSSD was a success or a failure ultimately boils down to a subjective evaluation. It depends on many factors and on differing perceptions of them. Such dissimilarities relate to individuals and their backgrounds, as well as to nations and their cultures. For example, neo-classic ‘free traders’ are likely to make a different evaluation of what WSSD has achieved than observers who are primarily concerned with environmental risks, poverty in developing countries or development issues.
