The Commonwealth

Wednesday, November 28, 2018

The Commonwealth

If I think about Britain, things like the monarchy, the afternoon tea, Harry Potter and the Commonwealth come to my mind. But for the most people, also for me, the question what is the Commonwealth exactly and when was it created comes to my mind. I always knew that the Commonwealth existed but I never really knew any specific facts about it. This is why I want to take a closer look at the Commonwealth today.

First of all what is the Commonwealth exactly? The Commonwealth is an association of 53 nations united by the ties of the former British rules. Its aim is to create and maintain ongoing prosperity in these countries. All of these countries were a part of the British Empire, before they joined the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth was created in the early 1900s. The main goal at that time was to ease the process of British decolonization. At the same time it was a possibility to maintain global unity through history, culture and language, despite growing independence and self-governance of former British colonies.

The Commonwealth represents one third of the world population. Over 2.3 billion people belong to it. These member countries are united through human rights, common values of democracy and rule of law. Entering the Commonwealth is voluntary and withdrawal is possible at any time. Withdrawal from the Commonwealth does not bring any obligations or consequences with it.

But how can countries join the Commonwealth? First requirement to be able to join the Commonwealth is by acknowledging Queen Elizabeth as the head of the Commonwealth. The other requirements are racial equality, liberty, human rights, equality, embrace of world peace and free trade. Those requirements are equally important as the first one. Sovereignty is a must for a member-state. Also English has to be accepted as the primary language of communication within the Commonwealth. The citizens have to have a desire to be part of the Commonwealth. Since 1997 member-states must have a constitutional link with any current member-state. It is also possible to get excluded from the Commonwealth if a nation fails to keep one of the democratic principles.

What does the Commonwealth actually do? The primary aim is to create strong connections or links between rich and poor countries. Also to bring together a variety of religions and demographics in one institution. Through this approach the Commonwealth managed to create diplomatic bounds between its members. Another very important and interesting thing, especially for smaller countries, is the bi-annual Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), which allows them to make their concerns and plans known. This is a great opportunity for those smaller countries to convince the richer and bigger countries to help them.

In my opinion the main advantage of belonging to the Commonwealth is to be a part of a very large network which is able to help and support you. It gives smaller countries a chance to be recognized and heard. It is a impressive and peaceful alliance.

Dominik König