A Commonwealth for the 21st century: An organization whose time has come?

Despite the prevalence and continuance of media and academic criticism of the Commonwealth, there are some good reasons for believing in the utility of the Commonwealth and of Commonwealth Studies some six years after the Symons Commission on Commonwealth Studies produced a wide-ranging report. The contemporary Commonwealth has intrinsic and value-adding qualities. The strengthening and dissemination of Commonwealth studies was a critical dimension of the Commission's report which made 43 recommendations to that end. The final recommendation emphasized the importance of a follow-up Commission in five years (ie in 2001); that has not happened, but it is worth reflecting on what such a Commission might now find.