ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the Group of Seven (G7) in terms of these spatial dimensions enhances our understanding of how and why the G7 finance ministries and central banks collaborate. Moreover, such multi-spatial analysis is essential if we are to appreciate the role and purpose of small group, or K-group, diplomacy in world politics. The chapter suggests that the G7 finance ministries and central banks display many of the features of a transgovernmental coalition and are often resistant to central co-ordination. The concert equality model misreads why lesser powers, such as the UK and Canada, can crucially influence G7 debates in the field of financial governance. One of the key characteristics of the G7 process is the degree of shared technical expertise amongst finance ministries and central banks. The chapter also looks at how this ‘mind-set’ sets the parameters for and influences procedures, routines and social practices at G7 meetings, creating a series of norms that structure G7 interactions.
