Tectonic power shifts in the global system have begun to fundamentally challenge the traditional dominance of Western countries in multilateral decision-making. To a large extent, the political rise of certain countries from the South reflects their economic gains. On the basis of GDP by purchasing power parity, China and India now occupy position two and three of the global ranking, while Brazil has advanced to ninth place. The new weight of emerging powers calls into question the summit architecture of leading industrialized countries that has shaped the global economy since 1975. The G7/8 has responded to its relative decline by focusing its outreach efforts on the »Big 5«: China, India, Brazil, Mexico, and South Africa. However, dialogue is limited to informal exchanges on the fringes of the official events. In contrast, G7 finance ministers have institutionalized interaction with the South through the G20 or F20 (Finance) established in 1999 after the financial crisis in Asia and other regions. This group, which represents 90 percent of global GDP and two thirds of the world’s population, has proven its value by promoting North-South convergence on an expanding range of global challenges. Still, the F20, a self-selected club, has come under criticism for its lack of legitimacy in relation to the universalist structures of multilateral organizations like the United Nations and the International Monetary Fund. Suspicion is also voiced that participating powers from the South are being exploited to further the interests of the West instead of acting collectively in favor of systemic reform.

As of late, calls for global governance innovations have been met with increasing attention. Reform models focus on two levels of institutional change which should be seen as complementary rather than competing: expanding the summit architecture and upgrading the role of the United Nations in economic and social affairs. Building on the F20, one promising proposal for summit reform introduces the L20+ as an informal leaders’ association at the level of heads of state and government, which would, in addition, encompass poor countries and representatives of the UN system. The German Finance Minister has publicly spoken out in favor of this approach. A recent idea to establish a Global Leaders Forum within the UN ’s Economic and Social Council is very unlikely to find political acceptance. However, ongoing efforts to strengthen the role of ECOSOC in economic and social issues should be supported, e. g. through the new biennial Development Cooperation Forum. Germany has so far been reluctant to assume a leadership role in the search for global governance innovations. As chair of the G8 in 2007, the German government will expand the dialogue with the »Big 5« by inviting them to all ministerial meetings and wishes to install institutionalized interaction among the G8+5 countries within multilateral institutions. Incremental steps, as important as they are, will, however, not address the urgent need for a fundamental overhaul of global governance structures in order to accommodate the new drivers of global change.