The Value of Talkfests

Since its inception in 1975, there has been much mystery and misunderstanding surrounding the G8 summit process. In recent years in particular, the high-profile meetings have become a venue for political theatrics, public protest and, during Gleneagles in 2005, terrorist violence. To get past the media circus and to gain valuable insight into what goes on offstage, one would do well to consult John Kirton and Radoslava Stefanova’s important book, The G8, the United Nations and Conflict Prevention. The title of the volume is somewhat misleading, because many of the essays are broad-ranging in scope and discuss the G8 processes of decision making on a wide range of issues that go well beyond the topic of conflict prevention. And the book’s somewhat superficial discussion of the role of the United Nations in conflict prevention makes its inclusion in the title also somewhat problematic, especially as there are so many other studies that have dealt with this topic in...