The 51st G7 Summit, convened in Kananaskis, Alberta, from June 15-17, 2025, under Canada's stewardship, was envisioned as a reaffirmation of shared democratic values and collective leadership. Hosted by Prime Minister Mark Carney, it sought to address global stability, energy transitions, and equitable partnerships. Instead, the summit exposed the G7's existential fragility, as the Israel-Iran conflict, internal discord, and the absence of a joint communiqué underscored a deepening crisis of purpose. With the United States' abrupt pivot under President Donald Trump and mounting geopolitical complexities, the G7 struggles to uphold its foundational principles, democracy, multilateralism, and global stewardship, in an increasingly multipolar world. This op-ed examines the summit's outcomes through a values-based lens, probing their implications for the G7's moral and strategic credibility.
A Betrayal of Collective Resolve
Canada's agenda was rooted in liberal ideals: safeguarding communities against authoritarian interference, advancing sustainable energy and digital equity, and fostering inclusive global partnerships. Yet, the Israel-Iran crisis dominated proceedings, reducing these priorities to afterthoughts. The G7's response a statement endorsing Israel's self-defense, condemning Iran's destabilizing actions, and advocating de-escalation was diplomatically sound but lacked moral weight. It sidestepped the humanitarian toll in Gaza and offered no concrete mechanism to prevent regional escalation, revealing a preference for rhetorical unity over principled action.
More troubling was the G7's silence on Ukraine. The failure to issue a joint statement supporting Kyiv, despite reaffirming $50 billion in Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration Loans from frozen Russian assets, signaled a retreat from the group's commitment to defending sovereignty against autocratic aggression. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's lament of diplomacy's "crisis" was a stark indictment of the G7's wavering resolve. This omission, driven partly by U.S. ambivalence under Trump, undermines the group's claim to moral leadership, risking further erosion of trust among allies like Ukraine, who depend on unwavering Western solidarity.
Economic Values Under Strain
The G7's economic deliberations exposed a clash of values between multilateral cooperation and national self-interest. The U.S.-UK trade deal was a rare success, reflecting shared commitment to open markets. However, Trump's tariff policies, set to intensify post-July 9, 2025, threaten the G7's foundational belief in free trade as a driver of global prosperity. Tensions with Canada, Mexico, and the EU over the USMCA and broader trade terms highlight a U.S.-led shift toward protectionism, fracturing the economic cohesion that once defined the G7. The group's earlier critique of "nonmarket policies" an implicit rebuke of China lacked follow-through, as no unified trade strategy emerged. This discord betrays the G7's principle of collective economic stewardship, ceding ground to rival frameworks like BRICS+.
Initiatives like the Tech Ethics Council for AI governance and a clean energy transition fund for critical minerals reflect the G7's commitment to innovation and sustainability. Yet, these measures, while forward-looking, lack the scale and inclusivity needed to embody true global leadership. Without engaging major players like China or India on equal terms, the G7 risks appearing insular, undermining its vision of a rules-based digital and energy future.
The Global South and Moral Legitimacy
The G7's outreach to the Global South, notably India's participation under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was a gesture toward inclusivity. Modi's advocacy for equitable trade and energy access aligned with the G7's stated values of fairness and partnership. Yet, the absence of leaders like Indonesia's Prabowo Subianto, who prioritized engagements with Singapore and Russia, and the unconfirmed presence of Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, exposed the G7's diminishing moral pull. In a world where BRICS+ amplifies Global South voices, the G7's Eurocentric composition feels increasingly anachronistic. Its failure to address pressing issues like debt relief or climate finance, core concerns for developing nations undermines its claim to universal values, risking irrelevance in a multipolar order.
The Erosion of Democratic Unity
The summit's most profound failure was its inability to uphold democratic solidarity. Trump's early departure on June 16 to address the Israel-Iran crisis disrupted critical talks, including with Zelenskyy, signaling a U.S. prioritizing unilateral action over collective responsibility. This move, coupled with ideological shifts in U.S. policy, strained transatlantic ties, as European leaders like Germany's Friedrich Merz and the UK's Keir Starmer pushed for multilateral solutions. The absence of a joint communiqué a hallmark of G7 consensus reflected not just logistical failure but a deeper erosion of shared democratic ideals. As the Atlantic Council noted, concerns over weakening democratic values within the G7 threaten its moral authority, particularly when contrasted with the assertive cohesion of autocratic blocs.
Conceptual Reflections: A Crisis of Purpose
At its core, the G7's struggles reflect a crisis of purpose. Founded to coordinate Western responses to global challenges, the group now grapples with its identity in a world where power is diffuse and values are contested. The liberal international order it champions rooted in democracy, human rights, and multilateralism is under strain, both from external rivals and internal backsliding. The G7's reactive posture, prioritizing crises over proactive leadership, betrays its mission to shape a just global order. Its exclusionary framework, sidelining major economies and Global South voices, clashes with its rhetoric of inclusivity. To remain relevant, the G7 must redefine its role, balancing its democratic core with pragmatic engagement in a pluralistic world.
The Path Ahead
The 52nd G7 Summit in Italy (2026) will inherit a fraught agenda: stabilizing the Middle East, bolstering Ukraine, resolving trade disputes, and advancing climate and migration goals. Failure to embody its values risks ceding leadership to rival blocs, diminishing the G7 to a nostalgic echo of Western hegemony.
[Major General Dr Dilawar Singh is an Indian Army veteran who has led the Indian Army's Financial Management, training and research divisions introducing numerous initiatives therein. He is the Senior Vice President of the Global Economist Forum AO ECOSOC, United Nations and The Co President of the Global Development Bank.]
