A message from the Chair
Officially the centenary of The Round Table journal (started in the Edwardian era) did not start until 2010. But the preparations, started ahead of time.
And I thought it would be good to provide a monthly update for readers and supporters of our journal, starting in July 2009 after my re-election for a final year as Chair of the editorial advisory board, (known since the early twentieth century as the Moot).
Richard Bourne
View the messages by selecting any of the links below:
March 2010
Over the next few months the outlines of a third attempt since 1989 to reform the Commonwealth will become clearer. In Port of Spain last November the leaders decided to appoint an Eminent Persons' Group to examine the processes and future of the association. They did not give much guidance, except to indicate that there should be more co-ordination between the Commonwealth's many intergovernmental and non-governmental bodies, and that the group should review the future of the ten or so regular Ministerial meetings, some now suffering from declining attendance.
The Commonwealth has form here. Similar exercises were held in 1989-91 and 1999-2002, but both of those were regarded as modest in outcome. Calling this one an Eminent Persons' Group— with its conscious recall of the famous group which sought to negotiate an end to apartheid in 1985-6— raises more hopes. Prominent independent personalities will not be satisfied with trivia; they will want to recommend policy, and areas where the Commonwealth should do more, or less. There is a danger that this EPG could fall between the divide in purposes between democracy and development. But it could also lead to new ways of doing things, especially if the Commonwealth Secretariat and Commonwealth Foundation take joint responsibility for servicing the new group. Why should not organisations such as these two, the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and the Commonwealth Policy Studies Unit, work together to promote democracy? Why should not the Secretariat, the Commonwealth Business Council and the Commonwealth Local Government Forum work to a coherent plan to promote development?
Many organisations and individuals should submit ideas when the terms of reference and membership of this EPG have been agreed. There should also be more public interaction than was the case when officials ran the last two reviews in secret. The Round Table, not just a journal but a collegial group with an ongoing concern for the Commonwealth, is constituting a small subcommittee to prepare its evidence. This will be looking not only to its British membership, but to the members of its international advisory board and its chapters in Bangladesh and Australia, for ideas.
Richard Bourne