From G7 to G8: Summit Reform

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

Peter I. Hajnal

April 1998

Summit Reform

Former British Prime Minister John Major has stated his conviction, perhaps more emphatically than his G7 peers, "that the summits have lost their original personal character, becoming institutional (or at least bureaucratic) and [he has invoked] a return to their origins. His proposal seems to have met with consensus from his coll&agues ... " ₈₇ His letter of August 1992, detailing his concerns to other G7 heads of state or government, has not been released to the public but a summary of it has appeared in the Financial Times of London. ₈₈ The fact that his proposals have indeed found resonance with the other heads is shown by the 1993 Tokyo communiqué, and the more informal, leader-oriented summits of Naples, Halifax, and Lyon.

Others have proposed various courses of action for the G7, ranging from abolition to institutional strengthening. W. R. Smyser states that although the G7 became "for a time one of the most influential institutions of the twentieth century ... , it ... [later] evolved in ways that could not be foreseen and that no longer serve its original purpose." Because he considers that the "G-7 mechanism now receives a failing score ... [and] is not functioning as originally conceived ... , [he asks whether] the G-7 structure, including the ministerials and especially the summits, should be discontinued." Nevertheless, he then acknowledges the continuing reasons for some type of summit: the usefulness of informal talks among leaders, the need to discuss post-Cold War problems on the highest level, and the need for agreement of the most important states in order to build "a successful world order", and suggests a different format and agenda, and a cabinet-level working committee to replace the sherpas. ₈₉

William E. Whyman, on the other hand, asserts that the summit has a future but must be strengthened. He presents two "trajectories" of summit evolution: (1) a revitalized G7 process that would refocus the agenda on core macroeconomic issues, keep membership small but develop associations with other countries or groups of countries and make the summit process simple and flexible, with closer ties with finance ministers; and (2) an incremental process that would expand the summit agenda to include more political and global issues, result in larger membership as well as association relationships, and increase the complexity of the process, with "creeping institutionalism." Staking out a middle ground between summit optimists and pessimists, Whyman concludes that the "incremental" scenario is the more realistic one. ₉₀

Flora Lewis, writing about the summit in the early 1990s, is rather optimistic about the state of the institution, but suggests a greater role for Russia. ₉₁ Kuniko Inoguchi is very supportive of the summits in the post-Cold War era, stating that "periodic meetings of the leaders of major nations to discuss international problems are becoming the most realistic means of overseeing the world order and building consensus on new directions. In a sense, this format can be seen as laying the groundwork for joint management of the post-hegemonic international politics of the twenty-first century." ₉₂

De Guttry envisions a greater degree of bureaucratic institutionalization; she suggests a secretariat for the G7 (either by creating one within the G7 or by using the OECD for this purpose). G. John Ikenberry goes even further, calling for a G7 secretariat and a G7 council of ministers, composed of foreign and treasury ministers, with varying membership according to topic. Hanns W. Maull, by contrast, states that from a German perspective "the answer to the idea of a G-7 secretariat is an unequivocal 'no'" and that Germany would rather see other international organizations--the OECD, the IMF, the World Bank, the EBRD--assume follow-up and monitoring of summit undertakings. Writing about ideas of radical summit reform, Putnam points out that "neither Smyser's recommendation to 'abolish it' nor Ikenberry's advice to 'institutionalize it' has significant official support. " ₉₃

The 1998 Birmingham G8 Summit promises to incorporate many innovations. The plans for the British host government of Tony Blair will, if successful, go a long way toward realizing the wishes of Blair's predecessor, John Major, for a more informal, leader-oriented summit. The British government has announced three major innovations for Birmingham: a streamlined, compact agenda with the three central themes of employment, crime, and the global economic situation; full participation by Russia; and a leaders-only summit, with foreign and finance ministers meeting separately in London a week before the Summit--in contrast with all previous summits where those portfolios traditionally participated. ₉₄ In addition, the leaders will have a retreat during the Summit, away from the media.

Notes:

Note 87: Merlini, "The G-7 and the Need for Reform," 6; Hodges, "More Efficiency, Less Dignity: British Perspectives on the Future Role and Working of the G-7," 146. Back.

Note 88: Philip Stephens, "Major Calls for Overhaul of G7 Summits." Financial Times (London), September 10, 1992: 1. Back.

Note 89: Smyser, "Goodbye, G-7": 16, 23, 26. Back.

Note 90: William E. Whyman, "We Can't Go On Meeting Like This: Revitalizing the G-7 Process," The Washington Quarterly 18, No. 3 (Summer 1995): 149-63. Back.

Note 91: Flora Lewis, "The 'G-71/2' Directorate," Foreign Policy, No. 85 (Winter 1991-92): 25-40. Back.

Note 92: Kuniko Inoguchi, "The Changing Significance of the G-7 Summits," Japan Review of International Affairs 8, No. 1 (Winter 1994): 23. Back.

Note 93: De Guttry, "The Institutional Configuration of the G-7 in the New International Scenario," 76; G. John Ikenberry, "Salvaging the G-7," Foreign Affairs 72, No. 2 (Spring 1993): 136-38.; Hanns W. Maull, "Germany at the Summit," 135; Robert D. Putnam, "Western Summitry in the 1990s: American Perspectives," in The Future of the G-7 Summits, 86. Back.

Note 94: "The Birmingham G8 Summit: Changing the Style," Great Britain, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, URL: birmingham.g8summit .gov.uk/f comdex. shtml. Back.