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Commonwealth of Nations
Member states of the Commonwealth
Member states of the Commonwealth
HeadquartersMarlborough House, London, United Kingdom
Working languageEnglish
TypeVoluntary association[1]
Member states
56 states
Leaders
• Head
Charles III[2]
• Secretary-General
The Baroness Scotland of Asthal
• Chair-in-Office
Paul Kagame
Establishment
• Balfour Declaration
19 November 1926
• Statute of Westminster
11 December 1931[3]
• London Declaration
28 April 1949
Area
• Total
29,958,050 km2 (11,566,870 sq mi)
Population
• 2016 estimate
2,418,964,000
• Density
75/km2 (194.2/sq mi)

The Commonwealth of Nations, often simply referred to as the Commonwealth,[4] is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire.[5] The chief institutions of the organisation are the Commonwealth Secretariat, which focuses on intergovernmental aspects, and the Commonwealth Foundation, which focuses on non-governmental relations among member states.[6] Numerous organisations are associated with and operate within the Commonwealth.[7]

The Commonwealth dates back to the first half of the 20th century with the decolonisation of the British Empire through increased self-governance of its territories. It was originally created as the British Commonwealth of Nations[8] through the Balfour Declaration at the 1926 Imperial Conference, and formalised by the United Kingdom through the Statute of Westminster in 1931. The current Commonwealth of Nations was formally constituted by the London Declaration in 1949, which modernised the community and established the member states as "free and equal".[9]

The head of the Commonwealth is Charles III. He is king of 15 member states, known as the Commonwealth realms, while 36 other members are republics, and five others have different monarchs.[10]

Member states have no legal obligations to one another but are connected through their use of the English language and historical ties. Citizenship of a Commonwealth country affords benefits in some member countries, particularly in the United Kingdom. The Commonwealth Charter defines their shared values of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law,[11] as promoted by the quadrennial Commonwealth Games.

History[]

Origins of the concept and establishment of the term[]

File:British Commonealth of Nations handwritten on Anglo-Irish Treaty draft.png

Draft of the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty, with "British Empire" crossed out and "British Commonwealth of Nations" added by hand.

File:CommonwealthPrimeMinisters1944.jpg

The prime ministers of five members at the 1944 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference. (L-R) Mackenzie King (Canada), Jan Smuts (South Africa), Winston Churchill (United Kingdom), Peter Fraser (New Zealand) and John Curtin (Australia)

Queen Elizabeth II, in her address to Canada on Dominion Day in 1959, pointed out that the Confederation of Canada on 1 July 1867 had been the birth of the "first independent country within the British Empire". She declared: "So, it also marks the beginning of that free association of independent states which is now known as the Commonwealth of Nations."[12] As long ago as 1884 Lord Rosebery, while visiting Australia, had described the changing British Empire, as some of its colonies became more independent, as a "Commonwealth of Nations".[13] Conferences of British and colonial prime ministers occurred periodically from the first one in 1887, leading to the creation of the Imperial Conferences in 1911.[14]

The Commonwealth developed from the imperial conferences. A specific proposal was presented by Jan Smuts in 1917 when he coined the term "the British Commonwealth of Nations" and envisioned the "future constitutional relations and readjustments in essence"[15] at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, attended by delegates from the Dominions as well as the United Kingdom.[16][17] The term first received imperial statutory recognition in the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921, when the term British Commonwealth of Nations was substituted for British Empire in the wording of the oath taken by members of parliament of the Irish Free State.[18]

Adoption and formalisation of the Commonwealth[]

In the Balfour Declaration at the 1926 Imperial Conference, the United Kingdom and its dominions agreed they were "equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic or external affairs, though united by common allegiance to the Crown, and freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth of Nations". The term "Commonwealth" was officially adopted to describe the community.[19]

These aspects to the relationship were formalised by the Statute of Westminster in 1931, which applied to Canada without the need for ratification, but Australia, New Zealand, and Newfoundland had to ratify the statute for it to take effect. Newfoundland never did as due to economic hardship and the need for financial assistance from London, Newfoundland voluntarily accepted the suspension of self-government in 1934 and governance reverted to direct control from London. Newfoundland later joined Canada as its tenth province in 1949.[20] Australia and New Zealand ratified the Statute in 1942 and 1947 respectively.[21][22]

Although the Union of South Africa was not among the Dominions that needed to adopt the Statute of Westminster for it to take effect, two laws—the Status of the Union Act, 1934, and the Royal Executive Functions and Seals Act of 1934—were passed to confirm South Africa's status as a sovereign state.[23]

Decolonisation and self-governance[]

After the Second World War ended, the British Empire was gradually dismantled. Most of its components have become independent countries, whether Commonwealth realms or republics, and members of the Commonwealth. There remain the 14 mainly self-governing British overseas territories which retain some political association with the United Kingdom. In April 1949, following the London Declaration, the word "British" was dropped from the title of the Commonwealth to reflect its changing nature.[24]

Burma (Myanmar since 1989) and Aden (now part of the Republic of Yemen) are the only states that were British colonies at the time of the war not to have joined the Commonwealth upon independence. Former British protectorates and mandates that did not become members of the Commonwealth are Egypt (independent in 1922), Iraq (1932), Transjordan (1946), Palestine (part of which became the state of Israel in 1948), Sudan (1956), British Somaliland (which united with the former Italian Somaliland in 1960 to form the Somali Republic), Kuwait (1961), Bahrain (1971), Oman (1971), Qatar (1971), and the United Arab Emirates (1971).[25]

The postwar Commonwealth was given a fresh mission by Queen Elizabeth II in her Christmas Day 1953 broadcast, in which she envisioned the Commonwealth as "an entirely new conception – built on the highest qualities of the Spirit of Man: friendship, loyalty, and the desire for freedom and peace".[26] Hoped-for success was reinforced by such achievements as climbing Mount Everest in 1953, breaking the four-minute mile in 1954, and a solo circumnavigation of the globe in 1966.[27]

After the Second World War, the British treasury was so weak that it could not operate independently of the United States. The loss of defence and financial roles, furthermore, undermined Joseph Chamberlain's early 20th-century vision of a world empire that could combine Imperial preference, mutual defence, and social growth. In addition, the United Kingdom's cosmopolitan role in world affairs became increasingly limited, especially with the losses of India and Singapore.[28] While British politicians at first hoped that the Commonwealth would preserve and project British influence, they gradually lost their enthusiasm, argues Krishnan Srinivasan. Early enthusiasm waned as British policies came under fire at Commonwealth meetings. Public opinion became troubled as immigration from non-white member states became large-scale.[29]

Republics[]

On 18 April 1949, Ireland formally became a republic in accordance with the Irish Republic of Ireland Act 1948; in doing so, it also formally left the Commonwealth.[30] While Ireland had not actively participated in the Commonwealth since the early 1930s, other dominions wished to become republics without losing Commonwealth ties. The issue came to a head in April 1949 at a Commonwealth prime ministers' meeting in London. Under the London Declaration, India agreed that, when it became a republic in January 1950, it would remain in the Commonwealth and accept the British Sovereign as a "symbol of the free association of its independent member nations and as such the Head of the Commonwealth". Upon hearing this, King George VI told the Indian politician Krishna Menon: "So, I've become 'as such'".[31] Some other Commonwealth countries that have since become republics have chosen to leave, while others, such as Guyana, Mauritius and Dominica, have remained members.[32]

The London Declaration is often seen as marking the beginning of the modern Commonwealth. Following India's precedent, other nations became republics, or constitutional monarchies with their own monarchs. While some countries retained the same monarch as the United Kingdom, their monarchies developed differently and soon became essentially independent of the British monarchy. The monarch is regarded as a separate legal personality in each realm, even though the same person is the monarch of each realm.[33][34][35][36]

New Commonwealth[]

Planners in the interwar period, like Lord Davies, who had also taken "a prominent part in building up the League of Nations Union" in the United Kingdom, in 1932 founded the New Commonwealth Society, of whose British section Winston Churchill became the president.[37]

The term 'New Commonwealth' gained usage in the UK (especially in the 1960s and 1970s) to refer to recently decolonised countries, predominantly non-white and developing. It was often used in debates about immigration from these countries.[38] The United Kingdom and the pre-1945 dominions became informally known as the 'Old Commonwealth', or more pointedly as the 'white Commonwealth',[39] in reference to what had been known as the 'White Dominions'.

Plan G and inviting Europe to join[]

At a time when Germany and France, together with Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, were planning what later became the European Union, and newly independent African countries were joining the Commonwealth, new ideas were floated to prevent the United Kingdom from becoming isolated in economic affairs. British trade with the Commonwealth was four times larger than its trade with Europe. In 1956 and 1957 the British government under Prime Minister Anthony Eden considered a "Plan G" to create a European free trade zone while also protecting the favoured status of the Commonwealth.[40][41][42] The United Kingdom also considered inviting Scandinavian and other European countries to join the Commonwealth, so that it would become a major economic common market.

At the time of the Suez Crisis in 1956, in the face of colonial unrest and international tensions, French prime minister Guy Mollet proposed to British prime minister Anthony Eden that their two countries be joined in a "union". When that proposal was turned down, Mollet suggested that France join the Commonwealth, possibly with "a common citizenship arrangement on the Irish basis". These ideas faded away with the end of the Suez Crisis.[43][44][45]

Structure[]

Head of the Commonwealth[]

Queen Elizabeth II official portrait for 1959 tour (retouched) (cropped) (3-to-4 aspect ratio)

Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-serving Head of the Commonwealth, was in office for 70 years.

Under the formula of the London Declaration, Charles III is the head of the Commonwealth.[2][46] When the monarch dies, the successor to the crown does not automatically become the new head of the Commonwealth.[47] However, at their meeting in April 2018, Commonwealth leaders agreed that Prince Charles should succeed his mother Elizabeth II as head after her death.[48] The position is symbolic, representing the free association of independent members,[46] the majority of which (36) are republics, and five have monarchs of different royal houses (Brunei, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malaysia, and Tonga).

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting[]

The main decision-making forum of the organisation is the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), where Commonwealth heads of government, including (amongst others) prime ministers and presidents, assemble for several days to discuss matters of mutual interest. CHOGM is the successor to the Meetings of Commonwealth Prime Ministers and, earlier, the Imperial Conferences and Colonial Conferences, dating back to 1887. There are also regular meetings of finance ministers, law ministers, health ministers, etc. Members in arrears, as special members before them, are not invited to send representatives to either ministerial meetings or CHOGMs.[46]

The head of government hosting the CHOGM is called the chair-in-office (CIO) and retains the position until the following CHOGM. Since the most recent CHOGM, in Rwanda in 2022, the chair-in-office has been the president of Rwanda.[49]

The 26th CHOGM was initially to be held in Kigali, Rwanda, in June 2020. Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was rescheduled to be held there in the week of 21 June 2021 before again being postponed to 25-26 June 2022. It was accompanied by meetings of a Commonwealth Youth Forum, a Commonwealth Women's Forum and a Commonwealth People's Forum.[50]

Commonwealth Secretariat[]

File:Marlborough House.jpg

Marlborough House, London, the headquarters of the Commonwealth Secretariat, the Commonwealth's principal intergovernmental institution

The Commonwealth Secretariat, established in 1965, is the main intergovernmental agency of the Commonwealth, facilitating consultation and co-operation among member governments and countries.[51] It is responsible to member governments collectively. The Commonwealth of Nations is represented in the United Nations General Assembly by the secretariat as an observer. The secretariat organises Commonwealth summits, meetings of ministers, consultative meetings and technical discussions; it assists policy development and provides policy advice, and facilitates multilateral communication among the member governments. It also provides technical assistance to help governments in the social and economic development of their countries and in support of the Commonwealth's fundamental political values.[52]

The secretariat is headed by the Commonwealth secretary-general, who is elected by the Commonwealth heads of government for no more than two four-year terms. The secretary-general and two deputy secretaries-general direct the divisions of the Secretariat. The present secretary-general is Patricia Scotland, Baroness Scotland of Asthal, from Dominica, who took office on 1 April 2016, succeeding Kamalesh Sharma of India (2008–2016). The first secretary-general was Arnold Smith of Canada (1965–75), followed by Sir Shridath Ramphal of Guyana (1975–90), Chief Emeka Anyaoku of Nigeria (1990–99), and Don McKinnon of New Zealand (2000–2008).[52]

Commonwealth citizenship and high commissioners[]

Initially, Commonwealth countries were not considered to be "foreign" to each other as their citizens were British subjects.[53][54][55] Citizenship laws have evolved independently in each Commonwealth country. For example, in Australia, for the purpose of considering certain constitutional and legal provisions no distinction is made between Commonwealth and foreign countries: in the High Court case of Sue v Hill, other Commonwealth countries (specifically, the United Kingdom) were held to be 'foreign powers'; similarly, in Nolan v Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs, the nationals of other Commonwealth realms were held to be 'aliens'.

Nevertheless, some members treat resident citizens of other Commonwealth countries preferentially to citizens of non-Commonwealth countries (see Commonwealth citizen). The United Kingdom and several others, mostly in the Caribbean, grant the right to vote to Commonwealth citizens who reside in those countries.

The closer association amongst Commonwealth countries is reflected in the diplomatic protocols of the Commonwealth countries. For example, when engaging bilaterally with one another, Commonwealth governments exchange high commissioners instead of ambassadors.[56] In non-Commonwealth countries in which their own country is not represented, Commonwealth citizens may seek consular assistance at the British embassy although it is for the embassy to decide, in its discretion, whether to provide any.[57] Other alternatives can also occur such as the consular services agreement between Canada and Australia that began in 1986.[58]

See also[]

  • Anglosphere
  • Community of Portuguese Language Countries, an equivalent grouping of Portuguese-speaking countries and territories
  • English-speaking world
  • La Francophonie
  • List of country groupings
  • List of multilateral free-trade agreements
  • List of Commonwealth of Nations countries by GDP
  • List of Commonwealth of Nations prime ministers
  • Organization of Ibero-American States
  • Representatives of the Commonwealth of Nations

Notes[]

References[]

  1. "Commonwealth Charter". 6 June 2013. Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 5 March 2019. Recalling that the Commonwealth is a voluntary association of independent and equal sovereign states, each responsible for its own policies, consulting and co-operating in the common interests of our peoples and in the promotion of international understanding and world peace, and influencing international society to the benefit of all through the pursuit of common principles and values {{cite web}}:
  2. 2.0 2.1 The Commonwealth - About Us, TheCommonwealth.org. Retrieved 10 September 2022
  3. "Annex B – Territories Forming Part of the Commonwealth" (PDF). Her Majesty's Civil Service. September 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 December 2011. Retrieved 19 November 2013. {{cite web}}:
  4. "BBC News – Profile: The Commonwealth". February 2012. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/country_profiles/1554175.stm. 
  5. "About us". The Commonwealth. 5 June 2013. Retrieved 3 October 2013. {{cite web}}:
  6. "The Commonwealth". The Commonwealth. Archived from the original on 19 June 2010. Retrieved 30 June 2013. {{cite web}}:
  7. "Commonwealth Family". Commonwealth Secretariat. Archived from the original on 31 August 2007. Retrieved 29 July 2007. {{cite web}}:
  8. "Imperial Conference 1926 Inter-Imperial Relations Committee Report, Proceedings and Memoranda" (PDF). November 1926. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 July 2005. Retrieved 14 June 2018. Their position and mutual relation may be readily defined. They are autonomous Communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic or external affairs, though united by a common allegiance to the Crown, and freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth of Nations. {{cite web}}:
  9. "The London Declaration". The Commonwealth. Archived from the original on 6 July 2010. Retrieved 4 July 2013. {{cite web}}:
  10. "The Commonwealth". The Victoria League for Commonwealth Friendship. 21 May 2019. Retrieved 1 September 2021. {{cite web}}:
  11. "Commonwealth Charter". The Commonwealth. Retrieved 11 April 2023. {{cite web}}:
  12. Queen Elizabeth II (1 July 1959). Queen Elizabeth's 1959 Dominion Day Message. Government House (Rideau Hall), Ottawa: CBC. http://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/queen-elizabeths-1959-dominion-day-message. 
  13. "History – Though the modern Commonwealth is just 60 years old, the idea took root in the 19th century". thecommonwealth.org. Commonwealth Secretariat. Archived from the original on 19 June 2010. Retrieved 29 July 2011. {{cite web}}:
  14. Mole, Stuart (September 2004). "Seminars for statesmen': the evolution of the Commonwealth summit". The Round Table 93 (376): 533–546. doi:10.1080/0035853042000289128. 
  15. "Commonwealth Heads Of Government Meeting 2018 - Civil Service". civilservice.blog.gov.uk. 12 March 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2023. {{cite web}}:
  16. F.S. Crafford, Jan Smuts: A Biography (2005) p. 142
  17. The Irish Oath of Allegiance, agreed in 1921, included the Irish Free State's "adherence to and membership of the group of nations forming the British Commonwealth of Nations".
  18. Pakenham, Frank (1972). Peace by ordeal: an account, from first-hand sources of the negotiation and signature of the Anglo-Irish Treaty 1921. Sidgwick and Jackson. ISBN 978-0-283-97908-8. 
  19. Historical Dictionary of European Imperialism. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group. 1991. pp. 297–298. ISBN 978-0-313-26257-9. https://books.google.com/books?id=uyqepNdgUWkC&pg=PA297. 
  20. Webb, Jeff A. (January 2003). "The Commission of Government, 1934–1949". heritage.nf.ca. Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage Website. Retrieved 29 July 2011. {{cite web}}:
  21. "Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942 (Cth)". foundingdocs.gov.au (Documenting a Democracy). Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House. Retrieved 29 July 2011. {{cite web}}:
  22. "New Zealand Sovereignty: 1857, 1907, 1947, or 1987?". parliament.nz. Parliament of New Zealand. August 2007. Archived from the original on 22 May 2011. Retrieved 29 July 2011. {{cite web}}:
  23. Dugard, John; Bethlehem, Daniel; Plessis, Max du; Katz, Anton (2005). International law: a South African perspective. Lansdowne, South Africa: Juta. p. 19. ISBN 978-0-7021-7121-5. 
  24. "Celebrating thecommonwealth@60". thecommonwealth.org. Commonwealth Secretariat. 26 April 2009. Archived from the original on 4 August 2009. Retrieved 29 July 2011. {{cite web}}:
  25. Chris Cook and John Paxton, Commonwealth Political Facts (Macmillan, 1978).
  26. Brian Harrison, Seeking a Role: The United Kingdom 1951—1970 (Oxford UP, 2009), p. 102.
  27. Theresa Walton and Susan Birrell. "Enduring Heroes: Hillary, Bannister, and the Epic Challenges of Human Exploration." Journal of Sport History 39.2 (2012): 211–226.
  28. Harrison, Seeking a Role: The United Kingdom 1951—1970, p. 103.
  29. Krishnan Srinivasan, "Nobody's Commonwealth? The Commonwealth in Britain's post-imperial adjustment." Commonwealth & Comparative Politics 44.2 (2006): 257–269.
  30. Whyte, J. H. (2010). "Economic crisis and political cold war, 1949-57". In Hill, J. R.. A New History of Ireland. VII: Ireland, 1921–84. Oxford University Press. p. 277 (footnote 20). ISBN 978-0-19-161559-7. https://books.google.com/books?id=PfFXarIhGqEC&pg=PA277. Retrieved 6 August 2019. "The Republic of Ireland Act, 1948...repealed the external relations act, and provided for the declaration of a republic, which came into force on 18 Apr. 1949, when Ireland left the commonwealth." 
  31. "Staying loyal to George". indianexpress.com. 19 February 2010. {{cite web}}:
  32. "Barbados to remove Queen Elizabeth as head of state". BBC News. 16 September 2020. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-54174794. 
  33. Bogdanor, Vernon (12 February 1998), The Monarchy and the Constitution, New York: Oxford University Press, p. 288, ISBN 978-0-19-829334-7, https://books.google.com/books?id=mN6SzMefot4C&q=%22overseas+realms%22&pg=PA289 
  34. High Commissioner in United Kingdom (24 November 1952). "Royal Style and Titles". Documents on Canadian External Relations > Royal Style and Titles 18 (2). DEA/50121-B-40. http://www.international.gc.ca/department/history-histoire/dcer/details-en.asp?intRefid=3498. 
  35. Smy, William A. (2008). "Royal titles and styles". The Loyalist Gazette XLVI (1). http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb1372/is_1_46/ai_n29437278/. Retrieved 3 January 2011. 
  36. Toporoski, Richard. "The Invisible Crown". Monarchy Canada. Archived from the original on 9 February 2008. Retrieved 20 April 2008. {{cite web}}:
  37. www.bibliopolis.com. "A Message from the Rt. Hon. Winston S. Churchill, C.H., M.P. President, British Section, New Commonwealth Society by Winston S. Churchill on Churchill Book Collector". Churchill Book Collector. Archived from the original on 3 August 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2015. {{cite web}}:
  38. Hennessy, Patrick (5 June 2004). "Blair calls for quotas on immigrants from 'New Commonwealth'". The Telegraph. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1463759/Blair-calls-for-quotas-on-immigrants-from-New-Commonwealth.html. 
  39. de Villiers, Marq (1998). "Review of The Ambiguous Champion: Canada and South Africa in the Trudeau and Mulroney Years by Linda Freeman". International Journal 53 (4): 783–785 : 783. doi:10.2307/40203728. ISSN 0020-7020. JSTOR 40203728. ; Miles, Robert (2016). "The Racialization of British Politics". Political Studies 38 (2): 277–285. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9248.1990.tb01493.x. ISSN 0032-3217. 
  40. Gowland, David (2009). Britain and European Integration Since 1945: On the Sidelines. Routledge. p. 46. ISBN 978-1-134-35452-8. https://books.google.com/books?id=dvt-AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA46. 
  41. James R. V. Ellison, "Perfidious Albion? Britain, Plan G and European Integration, 1955–1956", Contemporary British History (1996) 10#4 pp 1–34.
  42. Martin Schaad, "Plan G – A "Counterblast"? British Policy Towards the Messina Countries, 1956", Contemporary European History (1998) 7#1 pp 39–60.
  43. Clout, Laura (15 January 2007). "France offered to 'merge' with UK in 1950s". Telegraph.co.uk. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/expatfeedback/4202596/France-offered-to-merge-with-UK-in-1950s.html. 
  44. "BBC NEWS – UK – When Britain and France nearly married". 15 January 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6261885.stm. 
  45. Frank Heinlein (2013). British Government Policy and Decolonisation, 1945–63: Scrutinising the Official Mind. Taylor & Francis. pp. 137–43. ISBN 978-1-135-28441-1. https://books.google.com/books?id=ZAFeAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA143. 
  46. 46.0 46.1 46.2 "Report of the Committee on Commonwealth Membership". Commonwealth Secretariat. 24 October 2007. Archived from the original on 26 April 2009. Retrieved 29 June 2008. {{cite web}}:
  47. "Head of the Commonwealth". Commonwealth Secretariat. Archived from the original on 30 September 2006. Retrieved 29 June 2008. {{cite web}}:
  48. Walker, Peter (20 April 2018). "Prince Charles to be next head of Commonwealth". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/apr/20/prince-charles-next-head-commonwealth-queen. 
  49. "How we are run". The Commonwealth. 22 August 2013. Retrieved 17 November 2020. {{cite web}}:
  50. "Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM)". The Commonwealth. Retrieved 5 August 2021. {{cite web}}:
  51. "The Commonwealth". Commonwealth. Retrieved 1 June 2023. {{cite web}}:
  52. 52.0 52.1 Cook and Paxton, Commonwealth Political Facts (1978) part 3.
  53. Dale, William (July 1982). "Is the Commonwealth an International Organisation?". International and Comparative Law Quarterly 31 (3): 451–73. doi:10.1093/iclqaj/31.3.451. 
  54. Clute, Robert E.; Wilson, Robert R. (July 1958). "Commonwealth and Favored-Nation Usage". American Journal of International Law 52 (3): 455–468. doi:10.2307/2195461. JSTOR 2195461. 
  55. Hedley, Bull (July 1959). "What is the Commonwealth?". World Politics 11 (4): 577–87. doi:10.2307/2009593. JSTOR 2009593. 
  56. Lloyd, Lorna (2007) (in en). Diplomacy with a Difference: The Commonwealth Office of High Commissioner, 1880-2006. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. pp. 119–120. ISBN 978-90-04-15497-1. https://books.google.com/books?id=4z5Qj-7HZ68C. Retrieved 18 April 2020. 
  57. "Support for British nationals abroad: a guide" (PDF). Foreign and Commonwealth Office. 2013. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 October 2013. We may also help Commonwealth nationals in non-Commonwealth countries where they do not have any diplomatic or consular representation, but will normally ask their nearest embassy to provide any ongoing assistance required. {{cite web}}:
  58. "Canada-Australia Consular Services Sharing Agreement". Travel.gc.ca. 16 November 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2014. {{cite web}}:

Further reading[]

  • Ashton, Sarah R. "British government perspectives on the Commonwealth, 1964–71: An asset or a liability?". Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History 35.1 (2007): 73–94.
  • Bloomfield, Valerie. Commonwealth Elections 1945–1970 (1976).
  • Cook, Chris and John Paxton. Commonwealth Political Facts (Macmillan, 1978).
  • Hall, H. Duncan. "The genesis of the Balfour declaration of 1926". Journal of Commonwealth & Comparative Politics 1.3 (1962): 169–193.
  • Holland, Robert F. Britain and the Commonwealth Alliance, 1918-39 (Springer, 1981).
  • Jebb, Richard (1905). "Imperial Organization". The Empire and the century. London: John Murray. pp. 332–348. 
  • Lloyd, Lorna. Diplomacy with a difference: the Commonwealth Office of High Commissioner, 1880–2006 (Brill, 2007).
  • McIntyre, W. David. "The strange death of dominion status". Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History 27.2 (1999): 193–212.
  • McIntyre, W. David. The commonwealth of nations: Origins and impact, 1869–1971 (University of Minnesota Press, 1977); Comprehensive coverage giving London's perspective on political and constitutional relations with each possession.
  • McIntyre, W. David. A Guide to the Contemporary Commonwealth, Palgrave, 2001. ISBN 978-0-333-96310-4.
  • McIntyre, W. David. "The Unofficial Commonwealth Relations Conferences, 1933–59: Precursors of the Tri-sector Commonwealth." Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History 36.4 (2008): 591–614.
  • Madden, Frederick and John Darwin, eds. The Dependent Empire, 1900–1948: Colonies, Protectorates, and the Mandates (1994), 908 pp. online
  • Maitland, Donald. ed. Britain, the Commonwealth and Europe (Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2001) online Archived 19 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine
  • Mansergh, Nicholas The Commonwealth in the World, University of Toronto Press, 1982. ISBN 978-0-8020-2492-3.
  • Moore, R.J. Making the New Commonwealth, Clarendon Press, 1988. ISBN 978-0-19-820112-0.
  • Murphy, Philip. Monarchy and the End of Empire: The House of Windsor, the British Government, and the Postwar Commonwealth (Oxford UP 2013) doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199214235.001.0001
  • Perkin, Harold. "Teaching the nations how to play: sport and society in the British empire and Commonwealth". International Journal of the History of Sport 6.2 (1989): 145–155.
  • Shaw, Timothy M. Commonwealth: Inter- and Non-State Contributions to Global Governance, Routledge, 2008. ISBN 978-0-415-35120-1
  • Srinivasan, Krishnan. The rise, decline and future of the British Commonwealth (Springer, 2005).
  • Wheare, K. C. The Constitutional Structure of the Commonwealth, Clarendon Press, 1960. ISBN 978-0-313-23624-2.
  • Williams, Paul D. "Blair's Britain and the Commonwealth". The Round Table 94.380 (2005): 381–391.
  • Winks, Robin, ed. The Historiography of the British Empire-Commonwealth: Trends, Interpretations and Resources (1966) online

Primary sources[]

  • Madden, Frederick, ed. The End of Empire: Dependencies since 1948: Select Documents on the Constitutional History of the British Empire and Commonwealth: The West Indies, British Honduras, Hong Kong, Fiji, Cyprus, Gibraltar, and the Falklands (2000) online 596pp
  • Madden, Frederick, and John Darwin, ed. The Dependent Empire: 1900–1948: Colonies, Protectorates, and Mandates (1963), 908pp online
  • Mansergh, Nicholas, ed. Documents and Speeches on Commonwealth Affairs, 1952–1962 (1963), 804pp online

External links[]

Template:Commonwealth of Nations topics

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