G7/8 + G20 v Formal Organisations Flashcards
examine the claim that the G7/8 and G20 are more effective than formal international governmental organisations
they are a more effective forum for discussion
formal international governmental organisations can be seen as more effective
the G7 and G20 have also been highly effective and made some very important interventions in global politics
the G20’s response to the 2008 global financial crisis
they are a more effective forum for discussion
arguably, the G7 and G20 are more effective than formal international governmental organisations like the IMF and World Bank because they are a more effective forum for discussion
they provide a forum where states can discuss common concerns openly and honestly in a way they could not do in other forums such as the UN
the groups are also small enough for intimate discussions between leaders and finance ministers which makes it easier to reach agreement
in particular, the G7 represent states with similar political and economic systems (liberal democratic capitalist economies) which facilitates consensus, whereas organisations such as the IMF have hundreds of members from extremely different cultures which often makes consensus and genuine discussion difficult to achieve
the G7 and G20 do not seem to face this problem to the same extent, often enabling them to agree on new policy initiatives relatively quickly
for example, the G7/8 meeting at Gleneagles in 2005 saw a $50 billion aid boost and debt cancellation deal agreed for the poorest countries
formal international governmental organisations can be seen as more effective than the G7 and G20
on the other hand, formal international governmental organisations can be seen as more effective than the G7 and G20
the IMF maintains the stability of the international financial system by monitoring the system of exchange rates and international payments that allows countries and their citizens to do business with each other
it also monitors the economic health and stability of its member states and warns against policies which it considers could be damaging to the economy – this is known as surveillance
for instance, the IMF has advised Mexico that it is too dependent on oil revenue and that it should therefore diversify and in 2015 it warned African countries that they would need to reduce public spending to compensate for reduced Chinese growth rates
it also offers technical advice to countries on how best to maximise their economic potential, as it has been doing for Peru by advising on methods of tax collection and public spending
but perhaps the most effective role of the IMF is acting as a lender of last resort
after the 2008 global financial crisis, African countries were greatly impacted as the demand for imported goods from Africa declined and international growth rates slowed
in response, the IMF proactively made billions of dollars available to places like Ghana at extremely low-interest rates and with this support, Ghana’s growth rate increased to over 9% in 2011 and it remains one of Africa’s frontier emerging markets
this suggests that the formal international governmental organisations may be more effective than the G7 and G20
the G7 and G20 have also been highly effective and made some very important interventions in global politics
nevertheless, the G7 and G20 have also been highly effective and made some very important interventions in global politics
in 1999, the G7 cancelled $100 billion of bilateral and multilateral debt
it also went several steps further by doubling its aid to Africa and cancelling all the debts of 19 countries owed to the IMF and World Bank
as mentioned above, at Gleneagles in 2005, the G7 agreed to write off $40 billion of debt and contribute 0.7% of GDP to overseas development
then, in London in 2013, the world’s first global dementia conference was held in order to generate a more global response to the growing problem
as for the G20, in Brisbane in 2014, it discussed ways of ensuring that economies grow by 2.1% by 2018
for example, by encouraging female participation in the economy and cracking down on tax avoidance by MNCs
a year later in Antalya, all powers agreed to cooperate more closely together in response to the ISIS threat, especially in regard to aircraft security
consequently, it seems that the G7 and G20 may be more effective than formal international governmental organisations
the G20’s response to the 2008 global financial crisis
the G20’s response to the 2008 global financial crisis also seemed to suggest that these informal bodies are generally more effective than some of the more formal organisations like the IMF
the G20 agreed measures to inject £748 million into the global economy, they also agreed to clean-up financial markets and reform the World Bank and IMF, including giving a stronger voice to the developing world, greater resources and a stronger role in supervising the global financial system
the G20 meeting in 2009 in London was especially vital in laying down vital shared policies by which the global recession could be combated, including increasing the IMF budget to $750 billion, tackling unregulated banking and a shared commitment not to introduce new tariffs for at least another year or devalue their currencies in order to boost exports
it agreed to continue free trade rather than resort to protectionism in the face of the global financial crisis, demonstrating that the G7/8 and G20 are more effective than formal international governmental organisations
