The G20, Development and the UN Agenda 2030

Global governance arrangements connect the rarefied world of international diplomacy to the reality of life in the world’s slums and villages. The West to East shift in power and influence perturbed the existing balance between the G7 and the United Nations as the premier geopolitical and normative powerbrokers, respectively. In this weighty and realistic yet ultimately optimistic book, contributors explore the record to date and the future potential of the G20 as the site and grouping that can mediate the competing demands of efficiency, effectiveness and legitimacy with respect to the development and UN 2030 agenda. Highly recommended.

- Ramesh Thakur, Australian National University, former UN Assistant Secretary-General and co-author of The Group of Twenty (G20).

This theoretically sophisticated and analytically elegant volume provocatively examines the role of the G-20 in developing a new global aid regime that provides greater space for the self-determination of key Southern actors in shaping the emerging development co-operation narrative. Departing from typical empirically-driven academic writing, the authors of this edited collection offer refreshing accounts of how the nexus of history, political economy, and shifting power dynamics have enabled Southern actors, including civil society groups, to present an alternative aid architecture.

- Fahim Quadir (he/him), PhD Vice-Provost and Dean, School of Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs
Professor, Global Developmental Studies

This edited collection by Dries Lesage and Jan Wouters provides compelling support for G20 centrality in international relations. Instead of a focus on the role of leaders, the summit process is interpreted as a site for innovative practices exemplified by illustrations in the development arena. From this recalibrated analysis the G20 is positioned as a hub forum that notwithstanding its self-selective character connects to universal policy initiatives, above all the UN 2030 Agenda and the SDGs. Although appreciating the complex political and technical barriers to policy success, the book underscores the sustained salience of the G20 to undertake fundamental reform within specific key domains. Both because of the detailed expertise of its contributors, and its willingness to engage with core themes related to global governance, the collection deserves a wide readership.

- Andrew F. Cooper, University Research Chair, Department of Political Science, and Professor, the Balsillie School of International Affairs, University of Waterloo. Associate Research Fellow-UNU CRIS (Institute on Comparative Regional Integration), Bruges, Belgium.