From G7 to G8: Summit Cycles

From G7 To G8:
Evolution, Role and Documentation of a Unique Institution

Peter I. Hajnal

April 1998

Summit Cycles

Chronologically, the summit meetings may be viewed in septennial cycles, defined by hosting rotation, but there are a number of other ways of viewing summit history. Nicholas Bayne, writing in May 1997, distinguishes four cycles by rhythm and pace of activity: the first, 1975-1980, had summits that "were very ambitious in economic policies, arguably too ambitious." The second, 1981-1988, saw summits paying "much more attention ... to noneconomic foreign policy issues." The third, 1989-1994, was the first post-Cold War cycle, focusing on Central and Eastern Europe and the USSR, then Russia, but with lively activity "on trade and debt issues; and new work on transnational issues, especially the environment, drugs and money laundering." The fourth cycle started with the 1995 Halifax Summit, whose "key feature [was] the focus on reforming international institutions. " ₁₈

In terms of institutional development the summit history may be divided into three cycles: the first, 1975-1981, as Kirton notes, "consisted solely of the annual meeting of leaders, accompanied by their ministers of foreign affairs and finance"; the second, 1982-1988, "added regular stand-alone meetings of ministers of trade starting in 1982, foreign affairs in 1984, and finance in 1986, as well as an intersessional special Summit (absent France) in 1985. The third cycle from 1989 to 1995 saw the birth in 1991 of the annual G7 post-Summit meeting with the USSR and then Russia, the emergence of environment ministers' meetings in 1992, and a flurry of ad hoc ministerial meetings from 1993 onward dealing with assistance to Russia and Ukraine and the microeconomic issues of jobs and the information highway." ₁₉ (The ministerial and other non-summit parts of the system are discussed below.) From the perspective of successful summit performance, Kirton, writing in 1989, notes "a threefold progression--from effectiveness in the period 1975-1980, to reduced effectiveness in the period 1981 - 1984, to a renaissance in effectiveness in the period 1985-1988. " ₂₀ By contrast, C. Fred Bergsten and C. Randall Henning, writing on the eve of the 1996 Lyon Summit, present quite a pessimistic assessment of G7 performance, though focused on the G7 finance ministers rather than the summit itself. They remark that "[t]he G-7' 5 effectiveness has declined sharply over the last decade ... [and] that this recent paralysis is the strongest indictment of the contemporary G-7. " ₂₁ Kirton notes that this criticism "comes from those who conceive the G7 's central purpose as producing large package deals, embracing macroeconomic, trade and energy policy, through which governments can optimize economic performance through direct, collective intervention. " ₂₂

Guido Garavoglia and Pier Carlo Padoan distinguish four summit periods in terms of economic issues: ₂₃

1975-1979--a period of strong economic growth accompanied by high inflation and balance-of-payments problems. Macroeconomic co-ordination, especially in Bonn in 1978, was a major summit preoccupation;
1980-1984 was a time of economic recession during which the summit emphasized microeconomic issues and anti-inflationary measures;
1985-1989, during which macroeconomic aspects were re-emphasized, and so was economic development. This phase saw the Plaza (1985) and Louvre (1987) accords;
1990-, another recessionary cycle, during which summit interest shifted again to microeconomics and structural problems.

Hanns W. Maull states that

[d]uring the 1970s, the summits were primarily concerned with management of international economics ... [:] the future of the international monetary order; ... the enhancement of international economic growth through further liberalisation of world trade, macroeconomic policy coordination among the major industrialised countries and measures to alleviate the situation of the poor developing countries; and ... the containment of oil insecurity and instability. During the second cycle of summitry from 1982 to 1988, the emphasis shifted away from economic policy coordination ... towards broader political issues and transnational problems such as the global environment, international terrorism and drugs ₂₄

As to the evolution of the political agenda of the summit, Garavoglia and Padoan identify three periods: ₂₅

1975-1981, when France opposed the extension of political and security discussions beyond itself, Great Britain and the U.S., and when Japan remained reluctant to commit itself in what had traditionally been the competence of the Atlantic Alliance;
1982-1988, when political and other non-economic issues became increasingly important for the summits; and
from 1989 onward, with the emergence of global issues such as democratization, the environment, drugs and terrorism.

Notes:

Note 18: Nicholas Bayne, "Changing Patterns at the G7 Summit", G7 Governance, No. 1 May 1997) : 1 URL: www. library. utoronto. ca/www/g7/governance/g7govel . htm Back.

Note 19: Kirton, "The Diplomacy of Concert: Canada, the G7 and the Halifax Summit," 66 Back.

Note 20: John J. Kirton, "Contemporary Concert Diplomacy: The Seven-Power Summit and the Management of International Order" (Paper prepared for the annual meeting of the International Studies Association and the British International Studies Association, London, March 29-April 1, 1989; unpublished) : 3. Text also available at URL: www.library.utoronto.ca/www/g7/kirtoc.htm. Back.

Note 21: C. Fred Bergsten and C. Randall Henning, Global Economic Leadership and the Group of Seven (Washington, D.C.: Institute for International Economics, 1996), 3-4. Back.

Note 22: John J. Kirton, "Economic Cooperation: Summitry, Institutions, and Structural Change." Back.

Note 23: Guido Garavoglia, and Pier Carlo Padoan, "The G-7 Agenda: Old and New Issues," in The Future of the G-7 Summits, 50. Back.

Note 24: Hanns W. Maull, "Germany at the Summit," in The Future of the G-7 Summits, 120 Back.

Note 25: Guido Garavoglia, and Pier Carlo Padoan, "The G-7 Agenda: Old and New Issues,1' 50-53. Back.