The G-20 war games

The leaders of the 20 biggest economies of the world gathered in Brisbane, Australia on Nov. 15-16, 2014 for the annual meeting of the Group of Twenty (G-20). Although the intention was to discuss the state of the global economy and ways to expand it, the tension among member states, especially reactions toward Russian President Vladimir Putin, overshadowed the discussions and the results of the summit.

Still, after two days, the leaders of the G-20 agreed to commit themselves to boost global economic growth by 2.1 percent over the next five years, which will add more than $2 trillion to global economy and create tens of millions of jobs. According to the Brisbane Action Plan, prepared by the finance ministers of member states in February and accepted by the leaders now, G-20 countries will follow quite an ambitious and strict strategy. It includes increasing investment in global infrastructure, combating tax evasion, and implementing long-term reforms to strengthen global financial regulations. The aim is to return the global economy to the pre-2008 global financial crisis strength.

Besides the global economy, issues ranging from tackling Ebola to reducing the effects of climate change were also on the agenda. The fact that U.S. President Barack Obama had stressed the urgency of these issues before the summit almost predetermined that they would be given priority. In the end, they appeared in the final communiqué with further commitments from the members, but the fate of all these commitments undoubtedly depends on members’ willingness and ability to keep their promises.

In any case, the Brisbane Summit will be remembered not for the commitments, but for the discourteous attitudes of some of the world leaders toward Putin, who left the...