The Commonwealth in the 21st Century

Abstract

The Commonwealth in the Twenty-First Century finds itself in a difficult predicament. Neither in the 'Global North' nor the post-colonial 'South' do its stakeholders invest in the organisation as a key instrument for international governance. The space which it once occupied as a mediator between rich and poor nations has either closed or been taken over by other entities. But might the Commonwealth find a new role for itself by returning to its roots as a vehicle for the exploration of the commonweal, in particular as a focus of contemporary attempts to democratize the international system? The story of the Commonwealth itself, from its origins as project for a racial imperial oligarchy in the nineteenth century to struggles for its renegotiation as a space of equality, first of 'white dominions' with Britain, and second in the era of Decolonization, is a parable of how rights and participation can be widened. Might the Commonwealth in the Twenty-First century not drive new global conversations about inequality, social and economic rights, and different cosmopolitan futures?