1. The UK and the Commonwealth of Nations
Actualités et faits de société – Lecture 12

2. Introduction
What do we call the ‘Commonwealth of Nations’?  not to be mixed up with the ‘Commonwealth Realms’, made of 16 different countries which have kept Queen Elizabeth II as official and symbolic head of state Those include: Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica and a sprinkle of island countries like the Bahamas, Bermuda, Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda…

3. Introduction
What do we call the ‘Commonwealth of Nations’?  an organization made of 52 countries  main common feature shared: former British colonies (but not only)  ‘the Commonwealth family of nations’
What is its purpose?  an outdated remnant of the British Empire? OR  a voluntary association of 52 independent states, which is in the business of promoting democracy, good government, human rights, and economic development

4. 1. How the Commonwealth took shape
a consequence of the decolonising process… … which resulted out of the powerful bonds which developed among leaders and people, notably during the decolonising process
a 19th-century invention:
the idea was born as the British Empire started to disintegrate
1884: first ever time the phrase ‘commonwealth of nations’ is used, by a British PM, Lord Rosebery, in Australia
independences of some of the settlement colonies (dominions) like Canada, Australia, New Zealand…
need to rethink the mother country/children colony relationship
a more ‘equal’ relationship between former colonies and Britain

5. 1. How the Commonwealth took shape
The 1926 Prime Ministers’ Meeting The UK and its dominions agreed that 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 1931 Statute of Westminster  the official law that created the Commonwealth of Nations and officially declared the independence of dominions

6. 1. How the Commonwealth took shape
1949 and the new ‘colours’ of the Commonwealth family
1947: independence and partition of India
first countries where the pressure for independence came from the indigenous populations rather than communities descended mainly from British settlers.
the evolution into a multiracial Commonwealth
1949: Prime Ministers’ Meeting, allowing republics to keep the British monarch as head of the Commonwealth, ‘as the symbol of the free association of independent member nations and as such Head of the Commonwealth’ BUT NOT AS HEAD OF THEIR STATE
The British Commonwealth of Nations becomes the Commonwealth of Nations

7. 1. How the Commonwealth took shape
The 1960s and the ‘Wind of Change’
1957: Gold Coast, now independent and known as Ghana, is the first African country to join the Commonwealth
PM Harold Macmillan talks of the ‘wind of change sweeping through Africa’: over the next two decades, the UK’s rule ended in many parts of Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, the Mediterranean and the Pacific.
Commonwealth expands as a result of decolonisation

8. 2. Purposes of the Commonwealth
Members see the connection as natural because they have a shared past, a common language and, despite their differences, an enhanced capacity to trust one another.
They have used this link to strengthen each other’s development, and to work in partnership to advance global agreement over crucial issues such as trade, debt, gender equality, the environment, the threat of terrorism and the international financial system.  a business partnership  a intergovernmental organization

9. 2. Purposes of the Commonwealth
PEACE-KEEPING and DEMOCRACY
1960s: Commonwealth as a centre of global pressure against racism South Africa: exluded from the Commonwealth in 1961, to be reinstated in after the end of the apartheid
1991: Harare Commonwealth Declaration, promoting democracy and observing the countries that are suspected of not respecting democratic rules Nigeria: suspended membership in 1995, and reinstated in 1999 when new, democratic elections took place Pakistan, Fiji Islands, Zimbabwe… The Gambia left in 2013, not wanting to be part of a ‘neo-colonial organization’, but its new president vows to return The Maldives quit amid rumours of corruption and human rights abuse

10. 2. Purposes of the Commonwealth
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION - through the setting up of many foundations that provide financial help for research, scholarships, local development, NGOs…
PROMOTING CULTURE, SPORTS and THE ARTS - Commonwealth Arts Festival set up in the UK in 1965: poetry, dance, theatre, pictorial arts… - Commonwealth Prize in literature… - Commonwealth Games, the new name for the former British Empire Games, organized every 4 years since 1930

11. The Commonwealth provided the framework for the celebration of national cultures, creating the conditions for multiculturalism as a postimperial idiom for diversity
celebrating diversity within the Commonwealth
celebrating diversity within the UK as well

13. 3. Uniting nations, dividing opinions
the Commonwealth adopted its charter in December This commits members to 16 core values of democracy, gender equality, sustainable development and international peace and security
a friendly network of nations, based on education, culture and history, which will continue to play a vital role  historical examples of the friendship between Commonwealth nations in adversity

14. 3. Uniting nations, dividing opinions
The Commonwealth has hardly any geopolitical role or relevance. It is a large and somewhat anomalous club, which devotes most of its energies to maintaining its strange existence.
More lamentable is the club’s record on enforcing its members’ commitment to human rights and the rule of law, for example, when Sri Lanka’s abusive regime was permitted to host the Commonwealth leaders meeting
41 of the club’s members retain colonial-era laws against gay sex
Indian activist in 2010, demonstrating against the funding of the 2010 Commonwealth Games

15. Strong link between the monarchy/royal family and the Commonwealth Family of Nations
 diplomatic and ceremonial duties