Debates on governance through goal-setting and performance review have gained momentum with the adoption of the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
This article explores how the politics of performance review played out in public sustainable development reporting at the global-national nexus.
By examining the case of Swedish reporting to the United Nations' High Level Political Forum in 2017, the authors find policy translation, accountability preparation and identity formation to be key functions of SDG reporting. The article draws attention to the performative and political features of these functions in the sustainable development realm.