Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dzt6s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T18:51:46.503Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

II - The Commonwealth

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 March 2024

Gordon Greenwood
Affiliation:
University of Queensland
Norman Harper
Affiliation:
University of Melbourne
Get access

Summary

To write of the British Commonwealth is to write of things but half-expressed, of intangibles which so often make up the realities of life. At many points the forces and attitudes which operate are not easily susceptible to analysis. The responses are those which cannot be exactly measured. Such a view invites, and usually receives, criticism, especially from those without the Commonwealth. It is dismissed as nonsense or self-deception. No doubt there is not a little of both in the easy phrases of public pronouncement, but even when hedged about by qualification—the existence of material and security gains, divergences between member states and even between groups within a single member state—something remains which cannot be defined satisfactorily in constitutional, procedural, or material terms. The substance of the Commonwealth today is a blending of historical experience, sentiment, material interest and national advantage; and combined with these is the belief that voluntary association on a basis of freedom of decision represents a positive contribution to the defence of the dignity of the individual and to the creation of a more stable international society.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
First published in: 2024

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

  • The Commonwealth
  • Edited by Gordon Greenwood, University of Queensland, Norman Harper, University of Melbourne
  • Book: Australia in World Affairs 1950–1955
  • Online publication: 29 March 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009458122.003
Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • The Commonwealth
  • Edited by Gordon Greenwood, University of Queensland, Norman Harper, University of Melbourne
  • Book: Australia in World Affairs 1950–1955
  • Online publication: 29 March 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009458122.003
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • The Commonwealth
  • Edited by Gordon Greenwood, University of Queensland, Norman Harper, University of Melbourne
  • Book: Australia in World Affairs 1950–1955
  • Online publication: 29 March 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009458122.003
Available formats
×