From Global Frameworks to National Action: Expert Actors in Italy’s Sustainability Policymaking

The 2030 Agenda, published by the United Nations in 2015, builds on the directives set by the 1987 Brundtland Report, reaffirming the global commitment to sustainable development. To align with this framework, Italy adopted the National Strategy for Sustainable Development in 2017, revised in 2023 to reflect evolving socio-political and environmental priorities. The growing importance of expert knowledge in policymaking has raised questions about how such actors influence sustainability governance. This paper examines the role of knowledge actors in Italian policymaking, focusing on how ideas are translated into policy solutions from a sociological perspective. Drawing on the policy transfer approach and socio-political analysis of experts' roles, it analyses the Italian Alliance for Sustainable Development (ASS) as a case study. The qualitative methodology combines discursive analysis of artifacts, interviews, focus groups with ASviS members, and field notes from participant and non-participant observation. Using grounded theory, the study identifies three forms of political legitimation-expert, social, and institutional-and three dissemination mechanisms-knowledge-driven, awareness-raising, and network cohesion. Together, these enable ASiS to establish political legitimacy, shape policy debates, and position itself as a significant broker in Italy's sustainability policy discussion by placing these findings within wider conversations about knowledge actors in sustainability policymaking. It provides insights into how global frameworks are adapted to national settings and highlights strategies that may be transferable to other countries pursuing the 2030 Agenda.