The Group of Seven (G7) took on a new role in February last year. As the United States, United Kingdom and other G7 allies united to condemn Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, their response involved coordinated economic restrictions, such as blocking the Central Bank’s assets, tech export controls, a ban on Russian gold imports, and new sanctions on a wider range of individuals and entities.

But, did the G7 members have the same objectives in mind when they imposed these restrictions? What were the principal objectives that drove their choice of economic statecraft tools? How were the selected tools harmonized and implemented?

Further, was this use of the G7 as a mechanism to coordinate coercive economic statecraft efforts to counter Russian aggression a standalone case, or will the G7 be used to synchronize the application of economic statecraft against other national security threats in the future? And is the G7 the best intergovernmental organization for coordinating economic statecraft policies and actions, given that it only includes the world’s seven largest “advanced” economies?