After Elizabeth II: Does the commonwealth have a future?

Recorded at the Battle of Ideas festival 2022 on Sunday 16 October at Church House, Westminster.

ORIGINAL INTRODUCTION

The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee led to renewed speculation about the future of the Commonwealth and her death will only add to the questions about the Commonwealth’s future. Regarded by many as her most significant achievement, the organisation’s role in levelling sanctions against South Africa in 1986 was said to play a key role in the end of Apartheid by its supporters.

But today, there are increasing accusations that the Commonwealth is an anachronism and an irrelevance. Despite attempts to put it at the heart of post-Brexit Britain, it is unclear what this means beyond a slogan. Furthermore, some Commonwealth countries have either removed or questioned the British monarchy as their head of state. The royals’ role in the organisation has been questioned too, with Prince William even suggesting that it didn’t need to have a member of the royal family at its head.

Yet, many see in these developments the seeds of a renewed and strengthened Commonwealth. If countries can become republics but still want to stay in, as some Caribbean countries have, does this point to the enduring strengths of the organisation? After all, it remains the key – perhaps only – institution where less powerful nations can attempt to influence global affairs. With this in mind, even several Francophone countries, like Gabon or Togo, have begun to join.

When many countries are more likely to demand reparations from the British monarchy rather than bow in deference, is there any role for the Commonwealth today? Can it be a useful platform for smaller nations to influence global affairs, or is it simply outdated?

SPEAKERS
Tessa Clarke
journalist; author; documentary reporter

Dr Rakib Ehsan
author, Beyond Grievance: what the Left gets wrong about ethnic minorities

Lord Howell
president, the All-Party Commonwealth Parliamentary Group; politician; journalist; economic consultant and author

Jonathan McClory
partner, Sanctuary Counsel; expert on soft power, public diplomacy and foreign affairs; creator, partner, The Soft Power 30

CHAIR
Dr Mo Lovatt
national coordinator, Debating Matters; programme coordinator, Academy of Ideas