The 2021 G20 and Italy: keeping our dreams alive?

ABSTRACT

Italy’s presidency of the G20 defied the odds and resulted in costly commitments by the members on a range of issues: global health, climate change, a minimum global tax, and the crisis in Afghanistan. How can we explain this success? Italy’s prime minister, Mario Draghi, and his extensive prior experience and widespread respect was certainly a factor. The global context was also important, with the new Biden administration in the US leading a group of countries seeking multilateral solutions to pressing international problems.

KEYWORDS:

• Italian foreign policy
• G20
• Mario Draghi
• multilateralism
• prestige

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. On compliance with G20 commitments, see the analysis of the G20 Research Group provided in their G20 Information Center available at http://www.g20.utoronto.ca/analysis/index.html#compliance.

2. Available at http://www.g20.utoronto.ca/analysis/index.html#commitments.

3. The following commitments classified by the G20 research group were considered as economic issues: accountability, development, digital economy and digitalization, energy, financial regulation, green growth, information and communications technology (ICT), international financial institutions (IFI) reform, infrastructure, international taxation, labour and employment, microeconomics/microeconomic policy, macroeconomic policy/growth, socioeconomic issues and trade. The following were considered non-economic issues: climate change and environment, crime and corruption, education, food and agriculture, G7/G20 governance, good governance, gender, health, human rights, international cooperation, migration and refugees, social policy, terrorism and transparency. Commitments on digital economy and digitalization, and on environment and climate change were grouped together by the authors.

4. http://www.g20.utoronto.ca/2021/211030-draghi-remarks.html, accessed on 14 November 2021.

5. https://www.governo.it/it/articolo/g20-rome-summit-la-conferenza-stampa-conclusiva-del-presidente-draghi/18429, accessed on 14 November 2021.

6. Barigazzi: ‘Mario Draghi’s new mission: Saving the multilateral order’, https://www.politico.eu/article/italy-prime-minister-mario-draghi-rome-g20-euro-currency-european-central-bank-foreign-affairs/, 29 October 2021, accessed on 23 January 2022.

7. Press conference of the G20 Health Ministers’ Meeting, 6 September 2021 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GP4CClCOyf8, accessed on 15 November 2021.

8. Stein: ‘Biden, other G-20 world leaders formally endorse groundbreaking global corporate minimum tax’, https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2021/10/30/biden-g20-global-minimum-tax/, 30 October 2021, accessed on 23 January 2022.

9. https://www.iai.it/it/eventi/lasting-bond-revisiting-reinvigorating-italy-us-relations-160-years-their-inception, accessed on 16 January 2022.

10. Barigazzi: ‘Mario Draghi’s new mission: Saving the multilateral order’, https://www.politico.eu/article/italy-prime-minister-mario-draghi-rome-g20-euro-currency-european-central-bank-foreign-affairs/, 29 October 2021, accessed on 23 January 2022.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jason Davidson

Jason Davidson, Professor of Political Science and author of four books, most recently America’s Entangling Alliances (Georgetown University Press).

Carla Monteleone

Carla Monteleone, Professor of Political Science and International Relations.