From International Community to International Organisation?

Abstract

Since 1965, when it decided to create a Secretariat, the Commonwealth has increasingly been seen as a formal international organisation, rather than the informal family or community of like-minded states that characterised its earlier self-identification. Notwithstanding very modest assumptions about what its role should be, the Secretariat itself has done much to encourage this tendency. Yet, given its lack of both a constitution and very clear functions, there is still room to question what kind of IGO the Commonwealth is and whether it can find a distinctive niche in the ever-expanding universe of IGOs. At different times since 1965 the Commonwealth has assumed five different kinds of identities. It is argued here that a combination of three of these, together with what remains of its community traditions, could provide it with a valuable, if limited, role in an era of globalisation.