The leaders of the G8 are convening in Northern1
Ireland for the 39th G8 Summit. The backdrop for this two-day
meeting of the globe’s preeminent economic powers is a world
facing multiple global crises, all of which demand that summit4
participants engage in constructive dialogue that leads to
measurable progress. Despite that need, the annual G8
Summits are known more for eliciting empty political promises7
and saddling host cities with exorbitant costs.
The baby boomer generation presidents and prime
ministers at the G8 Summit are facing increasingly frustrated10
populations. With economic instability entrenching in the
West, a still teetering world financial order, and escalating
tensions in the Middle East, an entire generation of young13
people is growing up without opportunity, and with few
prospects for change. But persistent unemployment, declining
standards in health care and education, and environmental16
degradation are also driving growing numbers of young people
to demand sophisticated and coordinated global action.
From this mess, two significant questions arise: are19
the boomer generation leaders simply incapable of consensus-
driven international cooperation, one that sets aside national
interests for the collective good of humanity? And if this is the22
case, are tomorrow’s Facebook generation leaders doomed to
inherit the quagmire of their political predecessors?
R. Onley. The future of global
diplomacy. June 17th, 2013 (adapted).