ABSTRACT
The third summit series lasted longer - for six years, from 1983-1988 - as the impetus for innovation slackened. It carried the summits through the rest of the Reagan era to the final stages of the Cold War. This chapter considers the summit actors and the summit process, in the context of political leadership versus bureaucratic institutions. It reviews economic and foreign policy issues, in relation to the summits' contribution to reconciling the tensions of interdependence. The chapter examines how the summits influenced relations between Japan, Western Europe and North America, and promoted 'collective management' in place of American hegemony. As the third summit series began, the Americans still pressed ahead with economic 'leadership', brushing aside warnings from their summit partners. The summits of the third series tried to recapture political leadership, but adopted methods which weakened the summit process and inhibited its full potential.
