In the Issue

• G-8? G-20? G-x?
• Summer 2009 Courier Now Available
• Japan and the Changing Global Order
• Island Hopping
• Global Citizens and Global Fora
• US Editors Visit Kenya

Features

G-8? G-20? G-x? The ever-changing international summits known as the “Gs"—the G-8, the G-20, and other groupings—are becoming more and more important on the world stage. They have become an indispensable part of how individual nations consult and coordinate on global rules and actions, what experts call global governance. Read more about how the Stanley Foundation is actively encouraging the evolution of the Gs toward a mechanism we are calling “G-x.”

Summer 2009 Courier Now Available. In this issue veteran journalist James Traub, best known from the pages of The New York Times Magazine, examines the political will surrounding the G-8, G-20, and any new grouping. Alan S. Alexandroff, from the University of Toronto and the Centre for International Governance Innovation, traces the evolution of the Gs starting from a simple 1973 meeting in the White House library. Finally, Stanley Foundation program officer David Shorr reinforces the need for a G-x and maps out the potential pitfalls facing the development of such a forum. Read the full issue in HTML or PDF.

Japan and the Changing Global Order. Across politics, economics, culture, military strength, and more, a new group of countries has growing influence over the future of the world. Japan is one of nine countries the Stanley Foundation sees shaping the global scene. Learn more about Japan’s economic prowess and its role in Asia. This article is part of a series related to the Stanley Foundation effort "Rising Powers: The New Global Reality."

Beyond the Headlines

Island Hopping. This week four Uighur detainees being held in the US detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, were released and flown to Bermuda. Meanwhile, the small Pacific island nation of Palau has agreed to take in the remaining 13. The Obama administration secured their placement after Congress rejected a move to resettle the Uighurs (Chinese Muslims) on US soil despite a Pentagon ruling that they were not enemy combatants. The arrival in Bermuda of the first four detainees released has created a diplomatic row between the United States and Britain. And even in Palau, a small tropical island nation of 20,000 people and a longstanding US ally and recipient of significant US foreign aid, residents haven’t welcomed the idea of the Uighurs soon to be living among them. Previous host-country candidates, including Germany and Australia, have refused to take in the detainees, at least in part, for fear of angering the Chinese. Uighurs have been oppressed for decades by the Chinese government, which has alleged Uighur involvement in terrorism —an accusation denied by many international human rights organizations and the Uighurs themselves. The US has refused to return the Uighurs to China for fear they will be tortured or executed.

Global Citizens and Global Fora. A recent global public opinion survey found that those who travel abroad are more likely to see themselves as global citizens. The survey, which polled people in 21 countries, also found that people who know foreigners also consider themselves citizens of the world. The United States ranked neither high nor low in terms of seeing themselves as global citizens. Interestingly, the world’s most populous nations—China and India —ranked among the highest as seeing themselves as either a citizen of the world, or equally as a citizen of the world and their country.

China's and India's self-identified global citizens may feel that their countries aren’t fairly represented in the global governance system. Even as these two countries rise on the global stage, they continue to be left out of key global institutions. China (along with India, Brazil, Spain, Mexico, and South Korea) has overtaken Canada in terms of adjusted gross domestic product. China remains left out of the G-8, the informal forum to tackle the most pressing global issues of our time. Unlike China, who is a UN Security Council member, India is barred from the inner circle of global decision making, being excluded from both the Security Council and the G-8.

US Editors Visit Kenya. A dozen US print and broadcast media editors and producers recently spent two weeks in Kenya on a comprehensive fact-finding trip as recipients of the International Reporting Project’s Gatekeeper fellowships. The trip, which includes participants from The New York Times, Washington Post, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, National Public Radio, and more, was conducted in collaboration with the Stanley Foundation. The editors met with Prime Minister Raila Odinga and explored the fragility of Kenya’s government, health, environmental, political, and media issues.

Many of the gatekeepers have filed stories about their experience, including Kansas City Star Editorial Page Editor Miriam Pepper’s report about Kibera, the world’s largest slum. CNN producer Linda Roth also posted a photo slideshow of Kibera and President Obama’s Kenyan grandmother, Sarah Obama. Several news reports were prompted after the group interviewed “Mama Sarah,” who disclosed that Obama’s aunt was soon to return to Kenya following a controversy about overstaying her visa in Boston. Pepper blogs about it here, and the Associated Press, Boston Globe and The New York Times also reported the story.