VIEW FROM THE CPA SMALL BRANCHES CHAIRPERSON
‘THE COMMONWEALTH EFFECT?’ View from the CPA Small Branches Chairperson In my three-year tenure as Chairperson of Small In my role I saw the possibility to address this anomaly at Branches of the Commonwealth Parliamentary least within the CPA, i.e. by developing a strategy aimed Association (CPA), I have had the honour to work on specifically at the CPA Small Branches, who would a strategic plan, which for the first time, was aimed otherwise risk being left behind. This has now started at giving a voice to the smallest of jurisdictions to shift in order to give the smallest the voice they have pertaining to the Commonwealth family, the largest been striving for. community spanning all over the world. As an Officer In my research I have come across a concept of the CPA, this has also given me the opportunity which tied the Commonwealth to global affairs, ‘The to experience the work of the CPA and its affiliates Commonwealth Effect’. Albeit limited to the economic first-hand, moreover as a Member of the CPA sphere, this is the first and most notable attempt to Executive Committee, as well as a representative assemble a comprehensive data set on trade and Hon. Anġelo Farrugia, of the CPA in other international fora, where my investment relationships within the Commonwealth, MP, Chairperson of the perspective regarding the role of the CPA in the made in the late 1990s by Lundan and Jones (2001). CPA Small Branches and global scene has evolved in ways I never expected. In a paper entitled “The ‘Commonwealth Effect’ and the Speaker of the House of I cannot but consider this evolution to positively Process of Internationalisation”, they set out to analyse Representatives of the contribute to the work of the CPA, as the aims of the significance of a ‘Commonwealth Effect’ on trade Parliament of Malta. the Commonwealth, and its parliamentary arm go and investment. They concluded that there is an overall well beyond the politics we discuss in our respective tendency for high levels of intra-Commonwealth trade chambers which are too often limited to our country’s domestic affairs and investment, even when factors such as regional trade agreements or and rarely considered in a wider regional or global context. The true geographical proximity are considered. value of politics boils down to understanding the needs and fulfilling The future of the Commonwealth, and its role on the global scene, the aspirations of our citizens, not lease of the underprivileged who are has been discussed in various fora in the past years, and in a post-Brexit often unrepresented. Our work within the Commonwealth and more scenario I believe that such debate will only intensify and become more specifically within the CPA can help to align our efforts throughout the relevant. Added to this, one also needs to consider the growth of other Commonwealth. markets such as China, India and Africa. My role as Chairperson of the CPA Small Branches for the past three When the ‘modern’ Commonwealth was born in 1949, the economic years has deepened my understanding of this. Too often we observe that ties that linked Britain and its former colonies were strong. Indeed, the work of international organisations is tailored to the circumstances while there may have been debate at the time about what sort of of much larger jurisdictions whose experience and resources are much political association would befit the changing world order, the trade and more vast than of those which are either much smaller or still developing. investment links across the Commonwealth were taken for granted. Yet, during the 1950s and 1960s, economic links between Commonwealth countries began to weaken, not least because of the winding down of Commonwealth preference in British trade. The emergence of new engines of economic growth around the world and a new globalised regime of trade preferences followed soon after and the relative importance of the Commonwealth as a trading bloc began to fall away. In recent years, as Commonwealth countries such as India, Nigeria, South Africa, Malaysia and Trinidad and Tobago have developed rapidly, considerably overhauling their trading profiles, this trend has continued, securing economic growth in less developed areas. Although its members were now independent states, the association provided an important vehicle to formalise and underpin the networks, commonalities and shared values that had blossomed in colonial times. In an era of relatively few international associations, the Commonwealth pioneered international cooperation at the political level, promoting democracy, human rights and sustainable development. Yet, since the late 1980s, changing geopolitical realities and the growth of
“The future of the Commonwealth, and its role on the global scene, has been discussed in various fora in the past years, and in a post-Brexit scenario I believe that such debate will only intensify and become more relevant. Added to this, one also needs to consider the growth of other markets such as China, India and Africa.” 194 | The Parliamentarian | 2019: Issue Three | 100th year of publishing