G7/G8 and G20 Essay ⋆ Political Science Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

The acronyms G7/G8 (Group of Seven/Eight) and G20 (Group of Twenty) denote two informal interstate coalitions that coordinate the policies of nation-states in regularly held summits at the ministerial or heads-of-state level. This informal mode of governance contrasts the highly organized, formal decision-making mechanisms typically analyzed in international relations studies, such as in the United Nations, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and World Trade Organization. Scholars observe increasing trends of informality in international relations since the cold war due to a shift in political decision making from formal forms of governance to informal bodies. This is the result of resistance to reform in formal institutions, a growth of informal groups within for mal institutions, and the informal addressing of policies that were traditionally handled through formal agreements. Against these overall trends in international relations, the G7/ G8 and G20 have become decisive institutions in certain key policy fields, although the two coalitions differ in regard to their history, composition, and policy contents.

The G7/G8 was created in 1975 following the 1973 oil crisis and subsequent global recession. Originally referred to as the G6, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Japan, and the United States gathered annually to coordinate financial and economic policies for industrialized countries. In 1976 Canada joined the group, and since 1977 the European Union has participated in all of the group’s summits without being a recognized member. The addition of Russia, which was officially invited in 1998 as the group’s latest member, created the Group of Eight. However, Russia is not a full participant in all activities, because it is excluded from the G7 finance grouping.

Since the 1970s, the small gatherings of G7/G8 heads of states have evolved into annual summits that attract huge media attention, mass mobilization, and public consultation with key civil society stakeholders. The G7/G8 has broadened its agenda from pure financial and economic issues to wide-ranging policies, including foreign affairs, science and technology, financial markets, energy, environment and climate, and employment/labor. The original informal mode of governance has been steadily formalized through regular policy meetings and routinization of cooperation on the ministerial level. The annual summits of the heads of state remain the core of the cooperation. They are prepared for intensely, with representatives of the leaders, known as “sherpas,” in constant contact throughout the year.

The success of the G7/G8 is variable, as some give the group good marks for implementing policy decisions and commitments, while others fault it as an inefficient club bent solely on representing the interests of the global North by largely excluding the global South from its decision-making processes. The crisis of the legitimacy of the G8 is due largely to the fact that the group fails to represent the most relevant economies of the global economy. Against this background, the enlargement of the G7/G8 by the economic powers from the global South, including Brazil, China, India, Mexico, and South Africa, is the subject of various political and academic debates. The financial crisis of 2008 and 2009 illustrated that the G8 countries alone may not be able to adequately respond to global challenges.

The G20 was created in response to the Asian financial crisis of 1997 and 1998, in recognition of the fact that not all relevant economies were integrated in the informal modes of governance on the global economy. In 1999, finance ministers and central bank governors from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, European Union, India, Indonesia, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and Turkey met for the first time in Berlin at the invitation of G7 finance ministers, creating the G20. The choice of these countries was based on the size of their economies and populations, on the need for regional representation, and on traditional political ties of G7 countries. Since its inception, the G20 has played a moderate role in financial global governance; its role in coordinating global financial policies was strengthened by the global financial crisis of 2008 and 2009. Given the legitimacy crisis of the G7/G8, it is likely that the G20 will continue where the G8 has left off and become one of the central informal coordination mechanisms in global governance.

Bibliography:

Cooper, Andrew F., and Kelly Jackson. “Regaining Legitimacy:The G8 and the ‘Heiligendamm Process.’” International Insights 4 (2007): 10.
Cooper, Andrew F., and Agata Antkiewicz, eds. Emerging Powers in Global Governance. Lessons from the Heiligendamm Process. Waterloo, ON:Wilfried Laurier University Press, 2008.
Daase, Christopher. “Die Informalisierung internationaler Politik— Beobachtungen zum Stand der internationalen Organisation.” In Internationale Beziehungen und Organisationsforschung—Stand und Perspektiven, edited by K. Dingwerth et al., 285–303.Wiesbaden, Germany:VS Verlag, 2009.
Fratianni, Michele, Paolo Savona, and John J. Kirton, eds. Corporate, Public and Global Governance:The G8 Contribution. Aldershot, U.K.: Ashgate. Leininger, Julia. Think Big! Future Prospects of the International Summit Architecture—the G20, G8, G5, and the Heiligendamm Dialogue Process. Bonn: German Development Institute, 2009.
Martinez-Diaz, Leonardo. “The G20 after Eight Years: How Effective a Vehicle for Developing-Country Influence?” Brookings Global Economy and Development Working Paper 12. Washington D.C., Brookings Institution, 2007.

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