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G8 intro web PDF 28/9/05 12:03 pm Page 1 The G8 An introduction The G8: an introduction Nicholas Bayne London School of Economics and Political Science Measured by political leadership and collective management of global issues, G8 summits have performed well. But domestic pressures often frustrate economic agreement. Will Gleneagles do any better? he G8 summit was created, Italy. Their agenda was wholly and Schmidt wanted bureaucrats more than 30 years ago, as economic: growth and inflation, kept out of the summit process T the personal instrument of a international trade and, especially, altogether. Some preparation by small group of heads of state and the monetary system. After years of officials soon proved essential, but government.S Since then the agenda fruitless discussions in the IMF, the the summit has never become an has expanded under the pressures summit agreed on a new organisation, with headquarters and of globalisation. The summit has international monetary regime that secretariat. The second was to grown a complex apparatus has endured until this day. The initiate a system of collective downwards and developed Rambouillet formula proved so management, where Europe, North techniques of outreach sideways. attractive to the participating heads America and Japan would share Many other international institutions that it soon became a regular annual responsibilities hitherto exercised by now also meet at head of event, hosted by each member the United States alone. The government level. But despite all country in turn. Canada was added initiative for this came from the these changes, the G8 summit to be in 1976 and from 1977 onwards the Europeans, but the United States held this year at Gleneagles retains European Community (now Union) also saw advantage in sharing the its character of a personal encounter, was represented by Commission and burden. The third was to reconcile where the heads seek to go beyond Presidency. Thereafter the summit domestic and international whatever has been agreed by their remained at G7 for 20 years (see pressures generated by growing officials in the preparatory process. Table 1) until the arrival of Russia economic interdependence. When The first summit was held at made it into G8. the summit began, the Western Rambouillet, near Paris, in From the outset the summit had economies were struggling to November 1975, at the initiative of three main objectives, which have overcome monetary instability and President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing of remained constant to the present the first oil crisis. With their authority France, strongly backed by his friend day. The first was to provide political as heads of government, the G7 Helmut Schmidt, the Federal leadership, so that the heads could leaders could overcome domestic German chancellor. They were joined launch new ideas and resolve resistance to the international by US President Gerald Ford and the disputes that had persisted at lower agreement necessary to restore prime ministers of Japan, Britain and levels. To this end, Giscard d’Estaing order to the system. The G8 summit retains its character of a personal encounter G8 Summit G8 intro web PDF 28/9/05 12:03 pm Page 2 Table 1 G7 summits and their achievements, 1975-1997 Year Summit site Host Achievements First series – reviving growth 1975 Rambouillet Valéry Giscard d’Estaing Monetary reform 1976 San Juan, Puerto Rico Gerald Ford Nothing significant 1977 London I James Callaghan Trade, growth, nuclear power 1978 Bonn I Helmut Schmidt Growth, energy, trade Second series – holding down inflation 1979 Tokyo I Masayoshi Ohira Energy 1980 Venice I Francesco Cossiga Afghanistan, energy 1981 Ottawa (Montebello) Pierre Trudeau Trade ministers’ quadrilateral 1982 Versailles François Mitterrand East-West trade, surveillance Third series – the rise of politics 1983 Williamsburg Ronald Reagan Euromissiles 1984 London II Margaret Thatcher Debt 1985 Bonn II Helmut Kohl Nothing significant 1986 Tokyo II Yasuhiro Nakasone Terrorism, surveillance, G7 finance ministers 1987 Venice II Amintore Fanfani Nothing significant 1988 Toronto Brian Mulroney Debt relief for poor countries Fourth series – the end of the Cold War 1989 Paris François Mitterrand Helping Central Europe, environment, debt 1990 Houston George H.W. Bush Trade – no net advance 1991 London III John Major Helping USSR 1992 Munich Helmut Kohl Nothing significant 1993 Tokyo III Kiichi Miyazawa Trade Fifth series – institutions for globalisation 1994 Naples Silvio Berlusconi Russia into political debate 1995 Halifax Jean Chrétien Institutional review, IMF and UN reform 1996 Lyon Jacques Chirac Debt, development 1997 Denver Bill Clinton Russian participation, Africa Note. The G7 summits have been divided into five series of unequal length, each series being focused on a particular set of issues. The sixth series begins with the Birmingham G8 summit of 1998. G8 Summit G8 intro web PDF 28/9/05 12:03 pm Page 3 The G8 An introduction The G8’s greater involvement of non-G8 countries and non-state actors has improved the transparency of decision-making The record of the G7 summits abandoned communism, the The record of the G8 summits In the summits of the 1970s the summits mobilised action to help The reforms focused on three heads concentrated on their them build working democracies aspects: fully admitting Russia and economic agenda, especially as and market economies. The end of converting G7 into G8; having the many of them were former finance communism in Europe also made heads of government meet on their ministers. Under US President the international economic system own, without supporting ministers; Jimmy Carter, who arrived in 1977, truly universal, which brought new and concentrating on a few selected the summit developed its distinctive items onto the summit agenda, such topics, to reduce the volume of preparatory process, which still as the global environment. From the summit documentation. These three survives. Each head of government mid-1990s the summit began to reforms have now been in force for nominates a personal representative recognise the impact of globalisation a full sequence of G8 summits (see or ‘sherpa’, who acts as a bridge and conducted a review of Table 2), with each country acting between the political instincts of the international institutions, to see if as host except Russia, whose turn head and the requirements of the they could handle its new demands. comes in 2006. official apparatus. The G7 sherpas The G7 heads invited President At first the G7 heads used to have hold several meetings to prepare the Mikhail Gorbachev as a guest to the a separate meeting on economic summit, organised by the country 1991 London summit, in almost the subjects before the Russians acting as host. These systematic last international appearance of the arrived, but that practice has now preparations led the summits to Soviet Union. A year later they lapsed. Admitting Russia has adopt increasingly complex invited President Boris Yeltsin to opened up a debate on whether the economic decisions. In particular, Munich, to discuss a programme of G8 should admit other countries, the Bonn summit of 1978 reached a economic reform for Russia. Reform such as China. This has not three-way, cross-issue deal, whereby proved difficult and Yeltsin kept happened yet, but the summit has Germany and Japan stimulated their coming back every year. The G7 developed various forms of outreach economies in return for US action to heads began admitting Yeltsin to the to non-G8 countries, as examined in reduce its oil imports. summit on equal terms, first to their John Kirton’s article (see pp186). But when President Ronald political discussions and then even The practice of heads-only summits Reagan replaced Carter in the early to some economic ones. By this has become entrenched. By 1980s, political issues, which time the summits had accumulated detaching themselves from their interested him more than a massive agenda of recurrent official apparatus, the G8 heads economics, began to encroach on themes, both economic and have been able to develop links with the agenda. The main achievements political. New items kept being non-state actors, such as private of the summits in Reagan’s time added, under the pressures of firms and civil society. were in fact political – for example globalisation, but few could ever be Keeping the agenda and on stationing US missiles in Europe, removed and the summit seemed to documentation under control has and on terrorism. Much of the be sinking under its own weight. At not been easy in an institution that economic agenda returned to the the Birmingham summit of 1998, aims to innovate. A rigorous finance ministers. By the end of the British Prime Minister Tony Blair approach was maintained for five 1980s the G7 summit had lost launched a series of reforms. Their summits, but the French and much of its early dynamism. aim was to rationalise and simplify American hosts in 2003 and 2004 The end of the Cold War gave the the summit process, so as to give chose open-ended agendas, so the summit a new lease of life. As first the heads greater freedom to documentation became inflated the countries of Central Europe and concentrate on issues that really again. At Gleneagles in 2005, Blair, then the Soviet Union itself needed their intervention. as the first British Prime Minister to G8 Summit G8 intro web PDF 28/9/05 12:03 pm Page 19 The G8 An introduction Table 2 The summits of the first G8 sequence and their achievements, 1998-2004 Year Site Host Achievements Sixth summit series – globalisation and development 1998 Birmingham Tony Blair New format, crime 1999 Cologne Gerhard Schröder Debt, Kosovo, finance 2000 Okinawa Yoshiro Mori Outreach, IT 2001 Genoa Silvio Berlusconi Infectious diseases, Africa Seventh summit series – fighting terrorism and its causes 2002 Kananaskis Jean Chrétien Africa, cleaning up WMD 2003 Evian Jacques Chirac Outreach, reconciliation 2004 Sea Island George W.