A world agenda? How was universal primary education selected as a UN Millennium Development Goal?

Between 2000 and 2015, the eight UN Millennium Development Goals were central to the UN agenda, forming a blueprint for development. However, the manner in which multilateral agencies establish such global priorities is not well understood. The article analyses how and why universal primary education was selected as a Millennium Development Goal. It shows the historical momentum of MDG2 among competing priorities in a contested policy space and how policy entrepreneurs skilfully managed and navigated the process. Developing country voices, on the other hand, were virtually absent from influential decision-making forums. A unique contribution of the research is interviews with MDG policy entrepreneurs, to improve understanding of what would otherwise remain hidden aspects of the process and to aid theory testing and development.