The Asia-Pacific Journal | Japan Focus Volume 6 | Issue 11 | Article ID 2969 | Nov 01, 2008

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Alternative Summits, Alternative Perspectives: Beyond the2008 Hokkaido G8 Summit

Philip Seaton

Alternative Summits, AlternativePerspectives: Beyond the 2008 HokkaidoG8 Summit

Philip Seaton

Editor’s Introduction

The Hokkaido Toyako Summit 2008 was heldfrom 7-9 July 2008 in the picturesque hotspring resort town of Toyako. This series offour essays cr i t ica l ly eva luates thecontributions and limits of the Toyako Summitto ongoing international discourse and actionon some of the pressing issues of our time. Inparticular, it focuses on the gathering ofnational leaders, some of the alternative eventsthat coincided with the summit organized by

NGOs and citizens’ groups, and the effects ofthe summit on its host region Hokkaido.

There are three overarching themes: first, thesummit and alternative summits are not treatedas ends in themselves but as part of a broader,longer-term process of discussion of a varietyof developmental and social issues; second, theactivities of NGOs and civil society in responseto the Summit are assessed from theperspective of their effects on the economy andsociety of Hokkaido and beyond; and third, inthe context of the current media climate ofpredominantly critical reportage of G8summits, the series attempts to challengeprevailing views by airing perspectives thatreceived relatively little treatment in themainstream media.

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In particular, the series proposes that thesuccess or failure of the summit should not beseen simply in terms of the statements andpolicy agreements made by the G8 leaders andother national leaders who congregated inHokkaido in early July. The G8 summit shouldalso be assessed as a catalyst and stage forcivic action. There are many who have calledfor the end to G8 summits, such as WaldenB e l l o i n a f i e r y s p e e c h(http://www.tni.org/detail_page.phtml?act_id=18476&banner=banner2&keywords=) to theopening plenary of the People’s Summit,Sapporo Convention Center, on 6 July 2008.But a broader conclusion of this article series isthat civil society and NGOs might be among theprimary losers from the cessation of G8summits providing a high profile venue forassessing many of the issues swept under therug by state leaders. Indeed, civil societyparticipants were instrumental in many of thegreatest achievements of the 2008 G8 summit.At the same time, the authors critically assessthe claims and outcomes of the G8 summit. Our

aim, therefore, has been to find a more complexbalance between the polarized views of G8apologists, on the one hand, and the summit’smost strident critics (such as Walden Bello) onthe other.

The four contributors to this series of fouressays were all present in Hokkaido during thesummit and participated in G8-relatedactivities. Hugo Dobson spent the summit atthe International Media Centre in Rusutsu. ann-elise lewallen was on the organizing committeeof the Indigenous People’s Summit. And LukaszZablonski and Philip Seaton were on theorganizing committee of another of thealternative summits: “International Symposium:Peace, Reconciliation and Civil Society”. Theyshare, moreover, a common sense of the largerissues posed by the summit, if not necessarily acommon set of conclusions about the eventstaking place both at the official venue andbeyond. My thanks go to them, not only fortheir papers, but also for their extensive cross-reading of other articles in the series. I am alsograteful to the referees, Peter Hajnal, RichardSiddle, William Underwood and WatanabeMakoto; to all the other people who took timeto comment on drafts; and to Mark Selden forall his encouragement along the way.

Philip Seaton, Hokkaido University.

Posted at Japan Focus on November 30, 2008.

Recommended citation: Philip Seaton,"Alternative Summits, Alternative Perspectives:Beyond the 2008 Hokkaido G8 Summit" TheAsia-Pacific Journal, Vol. 48-4-08, November30, 2008.

Article Series IndexAlternative Summits, Alternative Perspectives: Beyond the 2008 G8 Summit (http://japanfocus.org/_Philip_Seaton-Alternative_Summits__Alternative_Perspectives__Beyond_the_2008_Hokkaido_G8_Summit__) Philip SeatonThe 2008 Hokkaido-Toyako G8 Summit: neither summit nor plummet (http://japanfocus.org/_Hugo_Dobson-The_2008_Hokkaido_Toyako_G8_Summit__neither_summit_nor_plummet) Hugo DobsonIndigenous at last! Ainu Grassroots Organizing and the Indigenous People’s Summit in Ainu Mosir(http://japanfocus.org/_ann_elise_lewallen-Indigenous_at_last___Ainu_Grassroots_Organizing_and_the_Indigenous_Peoples_Summit_in_Ainu_Mosir_)

ann-elise lewallen

The Hokkaido Toyako Summit as a Springboard for Grassroots Reconciliation Initiatives: The “Peace, Reconciliation and Civil Society” Symposium(http://japanfocus.org/_Lukasz_Zablonski__P_Seaton-The_Hokkaido_Toyako_Summit_as_a_Springboard_for_Grassroots_Reconciliation_Initiatives__The____Peace__Reconciliation_and_Civil_Society____Symposium)

Lukasz Zablonski andPhilip Seaton

The G8 Summit as “Local Event” in the Hokkaido Media (http://japanfocus.org/_Philip_Seaton-The_G8_Summit_as____Local_Event____in_the_Hokkaido_Media) Philip Seaton

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Other ResourcesG8 Information Center, University of Toronto (http://www.g7.utoronto.ca/)Official Japanese Government Webpage (http://www.g8summit.go.jp/eng/index.html)

Hokkaido Toyako Summit Preparation Council 2008 Webpage (http://www.do-summit.jp/en/about/)Andrew DeWit , The G8 Mirage: The Summit and Japan's Environmental Policies(http://www.japanfocus.org/_Andrew_DeWit-The_G8_Mirage__The_Summit_and_Japan_s_Environmental_Policies)