6.6.6.3  Other Global Political Groupings – the G20 and the G8

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In addition to the UN, there are other political groupings with global reach – notably the G20, which is a body formed of politicians from the countries with the 20 largest economies.[1]  It takes economic decisions but it isn’t politically representative of the world as a whole (3.4.4).  Its 20 members collectively represent "around 90% of global GDP" but there is no mechanism for any other country to have access to its decision-making processes.

The G8 is similar in nature to the G20 but with fewer countries.[2]  It excludes the ‘developing economies’ of China, India and Brazil but nonetheless accounts for about half of global GDP.

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[1] The G20 website was at https://www.g20.org/ in May 2014.

[2] The G8 countries are France, United States, United Kingdom, Russia, Germany, Japan, Italy, and Canada; its presidency rotates in that sequence.  In May 2014 its website, at http://www.g8.co.uk/, reported its role as follows:

“The G8 discusses and creates global policies.  However, adherence to these policies is not obligatory, and other countries can decide whether or not to obey.”