Thesis Title: Subverting the Empire: The British perspective on anti-imperial resistance within the Commonwealth.
Abstract: The modern Commonwealth was established in 1949 as a voluntary association of free and equal nations who had become independent from the British Empire. It aims to strengthen the prosperity, democracy and peace of its members through its vast array of intergovernmental organisations; notably the Commonwealth Secretariat. It currently comprises 56 member states with a combined population of 2.7 billion people.
For Britain, the Commonwealth served a particular function. It was envisioned to be a continuation of the empire by different means. It would bring all the former colonies of Britain under one organisation where Britain would dominate and continue to exert its hegemony. Despite the imperial intentions of Britain, the Commonwealth has instead been resistant to Britain’s imperial hegemony. Its members have fought to create an organisation of genuinely equal nations; leading to conflicts of interest between the Commonwealth and Britain. This research would seek to explore how Britain has reacted to the Commonwealth’s resistance to its imperial ambitions. Therefore this research is a study into the reaction to resistance.
To explore Britain’s reaction, this project will use two research methods. Firstly, case studies to directly analyse examples where there have been direct confrontation between Britain and the Commonwealth. The four case studies for analysis are the Suez Canal Crisis, South Africa’s departure from the Commonwealth, The Rhodesia Crisis, and Brexit. The second method of this project is elite interviews with British foreign policy officials and think tanks. This allows for an understanding as to what Britain’s imperial ambitions are directly from those who help construct it.
Primary Supervisors: John Narayan and Jenna Marshall
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