Researchers and scholars worldwide have turned their attention to the global economic crisis. National Perspectives on Global Leadership (NPGL), a joint project by the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) and the Brookings Institution, is an innovative project that focuses on a central question:

To what extent are the G8 and G20 summits seen by national publics in G20 countries as serving their interests and meeting their expectations that leaders will take responsibility for global economic stewardship?

NPGL is an experimental inquiry into the political relationships between national leaders and their publics. Within this project, experts are exploring the degree to which G20 leaders can rebuild public trust in their capacity to act collectively to restore the world’s economy. Restoration of public faith would have both political and economic impacts: it would raise the confidence levels of consumers, investors and money markets and, by extension, contribute to global economic stability and growth.

About the Authors

Martin Albrow is a senior visiting fellow at the Centre for the Study of Global Governance at the London School of Economics.

Peter Draper is a research fellow at the South African Institute of International Affairs.

Thomas Fues is head of the training department at the German Development Institute in Bonn.

Denise Gregory is executive director of the Centro Brasileiro de Relacoes Internacionais (CEBRI).

Pratap Mehta is president and chief executive of the Center for Policy Research in New Delhi.

Jacques Mistral is head of Economic Studies at the Institute Française de Relations Internationales (IFRI) in Paris.

Eser Şekercioğlu is a visiting scholar at the Center for Policy Studies at Sabanci University in Istanbul.

Xue Lan is a professor in and dean of the School of Public Policy and Management at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

Tomas Zinner is vice-president of the Board of Trustees of Centro Brasileiro de Relacoes Internacionais.