G20 Or De20?
From global governance to global ghosting
The G20 has been in a perilous state for years now. Even before the pandemic, it had become more about annual photo ops than a forum for substantial progress on global issues. Add in the Ukraine-Russia conflict and the October 7th attacks, and the G20 is permanently paralyzed in many ways.
The cracks are more clear than ever this year, as South Africa prepares to hold the gathering in November.
Since Donald Trump reentered the White House on January 20th, the US has been giving the group the cold shoulder.
Senior officials, from Marco Rubio to Scott Bessent, have skipped G20 summits. Then, on April 12, Trump himself poured cold water on whether he would attend the main event with other world leaders, proposing he could boycott the gathering over South Africa’s treatment of white farmers. Now, Trump has directed federal agencies to pause work on the upcoming G20 conference, severing US involvement in planning and facilitation.
But, it is not just the US involvement that is throwing this year’s G20 off balance.
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