The international influence of the Commonwealth

The Commonwealth is largely a continuation of the British Empire. This empire once covered 1/4 of the world territory. After Gambia's withdrawal, the club still has 53 member countries, including Australia, Canada, Nigeria, South Africa and, of course, Britain, which have joined together voluntarily. When the word Commonwealth was first used in the 1920s, it formed a way to keep in touch without the unpleasant colonial meaning of the word empire.

The Second World War, especially the fall of Singapore in 1942, clearly showed that Great Britain was unable to defend its empire, and the mystery surrounding its power was also removed. In the 1950s and 1960s, the Commonwealth was a tool for Britain to manage the decolonized countries that it could no longer rule or defend, most of which happened to yearn for independence. For these former colonies, the benefits of the Commonwealth are clear at a glance. Britain has special trade measures, for example, its former Caribbean territory is superior to Central America in banana imports. Nationals of Commonwealth countries have the right to immigrate to Britain, and many people have already done so. Commonwealth citizens living in Britain still enjoy certain voting privileges, while other foreigners and even citizens of other EU countries do not.

However, in the 30 years since Britain joined the EU, many of these benefits have disappeared. One of the main goals of the European Union is to establish a regional free trade area, so Britain is prohibited from granting its former colonial privileges. Britain's immigration policy has also been tightened, and now only those Commonwealth citizens whose relatives are already in Britain have special rights.

The Commonwealth Chamber of Commerce, an organization funded by the club, insists that there are still important trade and investment interests in the Commonwealth. A spokesman claimed that cooperation among Commonwealth member countries could improve the efficiency by 65,438+00-65,438+05% by sharing a common language (English is the first or second language of the whole Commonwealth), unwritten law tradition and accounting standards. This influence may not be as vague as it sounds, and some economists point out the difference between unwritten law and civil law economy. Most importantly, the Commonwealth mainly limits its goals to social civilization: encouraging democracy, human rights and stable economic and social development. In Britain, federalism seems to mean different things to different people. The conformist likes its connection with the declining empire. Others think it is a modern annotation of Rudyard Kipling's colonial view: Colony is the burden of white people, in short, western countries have the responsibility to educate developing countries. Some leftists regard it as an unwelcome antique, while others think it is a way for Britain to compensate for its colonial sins and provide substantial help to the democratization process.

Supporters of the Commonwealth also point out that these former colonies have some beneficial cultural ties. British universities maintain close ties with Commonwealth countries. The full name of the British Foreign Office is the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and there are some internship exchange programs that are beneficial to citizens of Commonwealth countries, such as the Chevening Scholarship for Indian journalists.

In addition, although some people criticize the Commonwealth as just a talk club, it is also a forum that poor countries (except Zimbabwe) like to discuss. For former colonies, it is the most important international organization dominated by non-America. Although Queen Elizabeth is the head of the Commonwealth, Britain has no special status. In fact, all the votes in the Federation must be unanimously passed. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair once expressed his frustration. He was extremely indignant at the possibility of lifting the ban on Zimbabwe, and Britain and its anti-Mugabe allies could not surpass it. The Commonwealth is one of the few international institutions, among which a small country like Saint Lucia can be on an equal footing with members of the Group of Seven such as Britain and Canada.