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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, . 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 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 , 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

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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 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) Trade ministers’ quadrilateral 1982 Versailles François Mitterrand East-West trade, surveillance

Third series – the rise of politics

1983 Williamsburg Euromissiles 1984 London II Debt 1985 Bonn II Nothing significant 1986 Tokyo II Yasuhiro Nakasone , surveillance, G7 finance ministers 1987 Venice II Nothing significant 1988 Toronto Brian Mulroney Debt relief for poor countries

Fourth series – the end of the

1989 Paris François Mitterrand Helping Central Europe, environment, debt 1990 Houston George H.W. Bush Trade – no net advance 1991 London III Helping USSR 1992 Munich Helmut Kohl Nothing significant 1993 Tokyo III Kiichi Miyazawa Trade

Fifth series – institutions for globalisation

1994 Naples Russia into political debate 1995 Halifax Jean Chrétien Institutional review, IMF and UN reform 1996 Lyon 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.

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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 , 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 . A year later they lapsed. Admitting Russia has adopt increasingly complex invited President 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 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

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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. Bush Broader Middle East

Start of second G8 sequence

2005 Gleneagles Tony Blair

2006 St Petersburg Vladimir Putin

host a summit twice, can judge how heavily indebted poor countries to danger that very poor countries well his reforms have lasted and give be a major subject for Birmingham, could be marginalised by new impulses to the summit process. as urged by the Jubilee 2000 globalisation. In their concern with The general aim of the first two Campaign. In fact, Birmingham finance, the G8 members had G8 summits, Birmingham 1998 and could do no more than lay the neglected trade, contributing to the Cologne 1999, was managing foundation for Cologne a year later. disastrous WTO meeting at Seattle. globalisation – enhancing its There, after the German government The summit now turned to trade benefits and correcting its changed, the G8 concluded an measures to benefit developing drawbacks. Their main agreement greatly improving the countries. The breakthrough came achievements were in international scope and the conditions of debt at Genoa, where the G8 gave a finance. At Birmingham the heads relief. The Cologne summit also concerted push to the WTO’s Doha endorsed new financial architecture produced a settlement of the crisis Development Round, which was worked out by the G7 finance in Kosovo. This depended on successfully launched late in 2001. ministers in response to the Asian securing Yeltsin’s personal Both summits promoted other crisis. But the crisis proved not to endorsement and demonstrated the development initiatives, linked to the be over: the finance ministers went advantage of having the Russians at UN Millennium Development Goals back to work and produced more the table. adopted in 2000. Okinawa launched comprehensive measures for The next pair of summits, the DOT-Force, to spread endorsement at Cologne. Okinawa 2000 and Genoa 2001, information technology (IT), and Blair had wanted debt relief for focused on world poverty and the Genoa inaugurated the Global

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Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis influence on this and the two improve the conditions. On trade, and Malaria. But other initiatives in following summits, at Evian in 2003 the G8 did not prevent the collapse renewable energy and in primary and Sea Island, Georgia, in 2004. of the WTO negotiations at Cancún education were not followed Political issues inevitably received in 2003 and contributed little to through. The summits were also less more attention, especially terrorism their revival a year later. successful in mainstream and non-proliferation of weapons of More than any substantive result, development issues like aid volume, mass destruction (WMD). The however, the Evian summit of 2003 while debt relief was losing United States used the summit to served to reconcile the G8 leaders momentum. win support from its G8 partners for after their deep divisions over Iraq These two summits pioneered measures like the Global and ended a period of dangerous outreach by the G8 both to non-G8 Partnership to clean up nuclear estrangement. A year later the Sea countries and to business firms and installations in Russia, and the Island summit launched an civil society. G8 members met a Proliferation Security Initiative to ambitious programme of combined group of leaders from developing inhibit the movement of WMD. But economic and political reform in the countries before Okinawa, including the fight against terrorism meshed form of the Broader Middle East Obasanjo of Nigeria, Mbeki of South with managing globalisation, Initiative, with a scope extending Africa and Bouteflika of Algeria. especially in the attention given to from Morocco to Afghanistan. G8 These three, with Wade of Senegal, Africa by all three summits. agreement was possible on this US were invited back to Genoa and Kananaskis introduced the G8 initiative because it matched an there persuaded the G8 heads to Africa Action Plan. The G8 approach already being underwrite the New Partnership for undertook to help African countries implemented by the EU. Leading Africa’s Development (NEPAD). that lived up to commitments taken regional powers were resistant at From Okinawa onwards, private under NEPAD to promote peace first, but had all been brought firms and civil society bodies were and security, good governance and round by the end of 2004. involved in the DOT-Force on IT and economic development. The two the Global Fund on infectious following summits kept track of G8 Assessment of the G8 summits diseases. Facilities were provided promises, with particular advances How far have the changes in the for NGOs at the Okinawa summit for in peace-keeping. The African summit since Birmingham enabled the first time. But when the Italians leaders were pleased to come to all the G8 to perform better against its tried to do the same at Genoa, it all three summits, as participants, not objectives of political leadership, went badly wrong and the summit just guests, though disappointed not collective management and was disturbed by violent to have made more progress in reconciling domestic and demonstrations. trade access or debt relief. These international pressures? The short The Kananaskis summit of 2002 summits had uneven success with answer is that the G8 has done well was the first to be held after the the development topics introduced against the first two of these, but terrorist attacks of 11 September earlier. They replenished the funds much less well against the third. 2001, which had a profound needed for debt relief, but did not Political leadership had been

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The G8 An introduction

Since Birmingham in 1998 the summits have become much more innovative

losing ground in the 1990s, but and non-proliferation. But the peace and security issues. since Birmingham in 1998 the Americans have favoured collective Gleneagles brings the attention back summits have become much more management of the Broader Middle to trade, finance and other innovative. They have launched new East Initiative, while the key subject of development issues, where the G8 initiatives every year, on debt relief, Africa is driven by Europe and members need to take hard IT and the digital divide, infectious Canada, not the US. Meanwhile, the domestic decisions. The second diseases, the Africa Action Plan, G8’s greater involvement of non-G8 topic – climate change – is an non-proliferation of WMD and the countries and non-state actors has aspect of the global environment, a Broader Middle East initiative. The improved the transparency of mainstream economic issue where heads of government are better able decision-making and responds to the the G8 has never yet been able to to strike deals among themselves demands of globalisation. reach substantive agreements. There that could not be reached at lower The summit has been much less is a wide gap that divides US policy, levels. The other heads persuaded successful at reconciling driven by domestic producer Yeltsin to endorse the Kosovo international and domestic interests, from policy in Europe and agreements. They themselves pressures. While the G8 is able to Japan, where consumer interests launched the Genoa Plan for Africa launch new ideas, often these are prevail. By highlighting these two and agreed on finance for the Africa not properly followed up. When the topics Blair is attacking the G8’s Action Plan. They endorsed the summit addresses mainstream main weakness and seeking to bring Broader Middle East Initiative, with economic issues, like trade, the summit back to its original linked agreements on Iraq and agriculture, aid flows and the economic vocation. He is counting Israel and Palestine. At Kananaskis environment, domestic obstacles on the personal interaction between in 2002, Bush agreed to a US$1 often frustrate agreement. This trend the heads at Gleneagles to yield new billion replenishment of the World weakens the summit and agreements and point the G8 in new Bank Trust Fund for debt relief, in undermines its reputation. As constructive directions. return for the others subscribing globalisation advances, international US$10 billion over 10 years to help pressures have moved ‘within the Sir Nicholas Bayne KCMG is a finance the clean-up of WMD border’ and affect domestic Fellow of the London School of in Russia. decision-making far more than when Economics and Political Science, a Collective management has come the summits began. But the G8’s former economic director of the under strain but has been preserved ability to deal with such tensions has Foreign and Commonwealth Office and and adapted. The achievements over been shrinking. a former Ambassador to the OECD. He the first four G8 summits owed as The United Kingdom has decided is author of Staying Together: the G8 much to European and Japanese to confront this problem at Summit Confronts the 21st Century, initiative as to American. After 11 Gleneagles. In one of the main hardback, 262 pages, £45 (Ashgate: September 2001, the US took the topics chosen – Africa – the G8’s Aldershot, 2005, ISBN 0 7546 4267 4). lead in many of the political topics economic contribution has been treated at the summit, like terrorism falling behind its involvement in

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