In the 8th Käte Hamburger Lecture, Andrew Cooper examined the rise of pivotal informal summitry/organisations, above all the G20 and the BRICS, and the implications of this phenomenon for global governance. At a basic level informal organisations differ from the formal institutions such as the UN and the IMF in a number of key ways: membership structure; foundational or legitimisational character and level of bureaucracies. This shift from a hub club to a focal point network can be interpreted as a sign of constraint with a loss of momentum. At the same time, this shape shifting has potential for innovation in modes of cooperation,

Notwithstanding images of fragility, both the G20 and BRICS have consolidated their positions as focal points in which key global issues are discussed if not negotiated. While meriting attention for their own unique characteristics, the G20 and BRICS can also be used as a barometer for how and where regional organizations are bending towards similar informal patterns.

Programme:

18.15h    Welcoming and Introductory Remark

• Dirk Messner, Co-Director Centre for Global Cooperation Research (KHK/GCR21), Director German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE)

18.30h    The Lecture: The Rise of Informal Summitry: Implications for Global Governance

• Andrew Cooper, Senior Fellow at Käte Hamburger Kolleg / Centre for Global Cooperation Research and Professor at the Department of Political Science, University of Waterloo

Discussant:

• Stefan Schirm, Political Science Section, Ruhr-Universität Bochum

• Silke Weinlich, Head of Research Unit 1, Centre for Global Cooperation Research

                        
Moderator:

• Dirk Messner

19:20h    Discussion with the Audience
19:45h    End of the Lecture and Get-Together