Abstract
This chapter describes the evolution of the G20, which was heavily marked by crisis events. It zooms into how the G20 has recently evolved from an abrupt global response to the global financial crisis to a forum for international cooperation in multiple policy areas, in other words from a “crisis committee” to a “steering committee”. This has implications for the G20’s objectives. Although initially preoccupied with financial regulation reforms and balanced economic growth, the G20 has experienced a noticeable expansion of its objectives to issues such as corruption, climate change, aid and development. Against this background, this chapter describes the institutional design and effectiveness of the G20 with the goal being to position the G20 as an essential part of the changing global order. This chapter provides a detailed account of the institutions’ main strengths and weaknesses, as well as threats and opportunities as one of the world’s most important diplomatic mechanisms for international economic governance.
There is virtually no major aspect of the global economy or international financial system that will be outside of the groups’ purview. (G20 2008, p. 28)
Paul Martin (the first chair of the G20)
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Notes
- 1.
The G20 policy manual, an internal document establishing a set of procedural rules (G20 2008, p. 23), is unfortunately not publicly available.
- 2.
The SSBs are independent regulatory and supervisory authorities. Their goal is to define good practices and guidelines which companies and supervisors operating in financial industry should follow.
- 3.
As indicated by Lyngen and Simmons (2013), the FSB seems to be driven by politics, and consequently it may take on many somewhat unrelated regulatory projects. Given its limited staff, the FSB is arguably overcommitting. One should further note that similar to the G20, the FSB has rather limited enforcement capability. It relies on soft governance methods, such as peer review process and ‘naming and shaming’. Some criticism can be also raised regarding the fact that the FSB pays no attention to problems faced by emerging or developing markets.
- 4.
In March 2017, for the first time since 2008 the commitment to free trade principle in the G20 ministerial communiqué has been omitted. This might be a warning sign of a new wave of protectionist measures (Urban 2017).
Further Readings
Amtenbrink, F., Blokker N., van den Bogaert, S., Cuyvers A., Heine K., Hillion C., Kantorowicz J., Lenk H., & Repasi R. (2015). The European Union’s role in international economic fora paper 1: The G20. Study for the ECON Committee. IP/A/ECON/2014-15.
Hajnal, P. I. (2014). The G20. Evolution, interrelationships, documentation. New York: Routledge. G20 Information center provided by the G20 Research Group available at http://www.g20.utoronto.ca/
Luckhurst, J. (2016). G20 since the global crisis. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
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Kantorowicz, J. (2020). The Role and Effectiveness of the G20. In: Hosli, M.O., Selleslaghs, J. (eds) The Changing Global Order. United Nations University Series on Regionalism, vol 17. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21603-0_17
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