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Who gets an invitation to the party? When examining the G8 and its role in global governance, it is important to recognize several key factors. First, although seven of the world’s eight largest economies are members of the G8, membership is not based upon economic size alone. If you examine the ranking of national economies below, it is easily apparent that many nations could have justifiably been added to the G7 before the Russian Federation was invited. The fact that China has not been invited, despite having the world’s seventh largest economy makes it clear that dedicated free market economies only are invited. The exclusion of Brazil (9 th), Mexico (11th), and Argentina (16th) suggests that nations with huge debt problems are not welcome, regardless of economic strength. India (12th) is not a member either. Perhaps developing nations are unwelcome – with their focus on poverty reduction and other troublesome topics. The exclusion of Sweden (20th), Belgium (18th), Switzerland (17th), the Netherlands (14th), and Spain (10th) infers that American fears of European domination are still present.The inclusion of Russia (19 th) in the G8 is peculiar in this regard. Russia is in an economic and debt crisis as bad as any third world economy. Perhaps the inclusion of Russia is a tacit recognition of the still massive Russian military apparatus and of fears that the savage social inequality and suffering caused by Russia’s move to a free market economy make it politically volatile. Globalization, particularly with regard to the new international trade regime, would have been unlikely to unfold as it has with the absence of both Russia and China. |