Design and Discovery in the Making of the G-7

Organised by

• Department of Political and Social Sciences

The war in Ukraine has put the spotlight back on the Group of Seven (G-7) as a major institution in global politics. The G-7 has been there before, but it has also repeatedly been called moribund. This presentation situates what is known about the G-7 in longstanding and ongoing debates in International Relations (IR) about the origins of institutionalised cooperation. It contrasts a design perspective that has been dominant in IR with a discovery perspective that makes apparent how political leaders, diplomats, and economic officials come to terms with the amorphous structure of the G-7. It shares material from 27 archival collections and what these reveal about the institutionalisation of the G-7.

This event is organised in the framework of CIVICA – The European University of Social Sciences. CIVICA brings together ten leading European higher education institutions in the social sciences to build an inter-university campus that provides joint and long-lasting opportunities in teaching, research and innovative learning, while enhancing academic excellence and facilitating civic engagement in Europe and beyond. CIVICA was selected by the European Commission as one of the pilot European Universities in 2019 and confirmed as successful alliance in 2022 for its full roll-out under the Erasmus+ programme. Read more on civica.eu.