ABSTRACT
Since the first summit meeting at the château of Rambouillet in November 1975, a number of criticisms and accusations have been levelled at the G7/8. Three issues in particular have dogged the G7/8 throughout its history:
• Legitimacy. As an unelected and seemingly unaccountable grouping of the most powerful states in the global political economy, without any legal basis or criteria for membership, the G7/8 has understandably been accused of illegitimacy.
