CFP: From Strangers to Partners? The Commonwealth of Nations and the European Union

From Strangers to Partners? The Commonwealth of Nations and the European Union


23 March 2012 - Strasbourg

One-day conference organised by the Institut d'Etudes Politiques (IEP), Strasbourg, and Université Paris Diderot

The early history of relations between the Commonwealth and Europe is to be read in the light of Britain's own relations with the European Economic Community. As Britain twice applied and twice faced the French veto in the 1960s, the Commonwealth of Nations evolved radically. From an association essentially defined through its relationship with the ex-imperial power, the Commonwealth expanded as decolonisation gathered pace, was given a Secretariat in 1965 and Arnold Smith, the first Secretary General, contributed greatly to the assertion of an independent Commonwealth voice, determined to mark its relevance in a rapidly changing world.

The Commonwealth of Nations issued its first declaration of principles in January 1971, as Britain finally progressed towards EEC membership and officially joined in January 1973. For British foreign policy, the Commonwealth and Europe had long represented conflicting attractions and the determination to conciliate both sets of partners had initially been a seemingly insoluble dilemma. While the two spheres retained their specificities, they now intersected, not only through Britain, but through the association of a number of ex-British territories in the 1975 Lomé Convention and the later joint membership of Cyprus and Malta. Is the EU one of the "strategic partners" of the Commonwealth in its actions for development and democracy? To what extent do values converge? To what extent does the Commonwealth have any influence on EU development policies? How can the past and present framework for consultation between the EU and the Commonwealth be understood - and is there scope for improvement? At a time when tensions between the Conservative and Liberal Democrat partners of the coalition government in London have hit the headlines on European issues, and when Foreign Secretary William Hague has called for the reinvigoration of the Commonwealth, understanding current cooperation networks and possible ventures seems an essential undertaking.

The work of the conference will be articulated around two major themes:

1) Connecting institutional pasts

Possible topics for papers include:

- British foreign policy and diplomacy in Commonwealth and European circles: mutual influences, evolving interests and shifting identities
- The impact of Britain's application to the EEC, and membership of the EEC/EU on Commonwealth ties
- The role of Cyprus and Malta in bringing both organisations closer together and as vehicles for common understanding
- Intra-Commonwealth divisions on European relations

2) Present Dynamics and Future Cooperation

Possible topics for papers include:
- Lobbying and co-operation in multilateral organisations
- The articulation of Commonwealth policies and EU policies outside Europe (in the Pacific and the Caribbean where some territories are part of the EU, but also in Africa)
- European and Commonwealth approaches to development
- The scope for cooperation in democratic processes, from election observation to institution building
- Commonwealth and La Francophonie cross-influences in the EU, and the impact of Britain and France's imperial past on EU policies in developing countries.

This conference follows two previous conferences held at Université Paris Diderot in 2009 (The Commonwealth of Nations: a force for democracy?) and 2010 (The Commonwealth@60: identity and relevance in perspective).

Proposals (max. 500 words) and a short biography should be sent to the organisers, Ron Leask, Virginie Roiron and Mélanie Torrent (cweu2012@gmail.com) no later than 15 November 2011.

Participants are expected to cover their travel and accommodation expenses.

Malta to have National Librarian

Malta will soon have a national librarian who will be responsible for ensuring that priceless books, documents and manuscripts are collected and maintained for posterity.


Malta's Education Minister Dolores Cristina recently said a call for applications would soon be issued for the post of national librarian following the publication of the long awaited Malta Libraries Act. She added that she was currently working on the appointments to the Libraries’ Council that will work to promote libraries and facilitate collaboration between different stakeholders. The council, which will serve for three years, will be made up of a chairman, national archivist, the head of the university’s archives studies, director of local council departments and another three members.

The law also sets up Malta Libraries as a legal entity that can enter into contracts, acquire books and manage resources. It also creates the roles of national librarian, to head Malta Libraries, and deputy librarians for the National Library and public libraries.

The Lions Club Sliema has embarked on a National Library Book Restoration Project in collaboration with Heritage Malta.The salvage operation started with the €9,000 restoration of three books from the Hortus Romanus, an eight volume collection of valuable botanical engravings published between 1772 and 1793. After sponsoring the restoration of about 50 rare books, the Lions Club yesterday unveiled its most recent contribution when it donated a restoration machine to the National Library.

The restoration of one manuscript’s page, that once took restorers an entire afternoon, can now be completed in five minutes by using a new machine. The €7,000 leaf-casting machine was donated by Lions Club Sliema to the National Library’s restoration unit that is dedicated to reviving the thousands of tattered pages in the library.

New archives catalogue available in PDF format - Colin Legum

As part of our rolling project to add PDF attachments of existing finding aids to the online archives catalogue we're pleased to announce that we have drawn together a number of lists for the Colin Legum collection.

Colin Legum was born in 1919. In 1934 Colin Legum began working at the Sunday Express in Johannesburg. Later he became the newspaper's political correspondent. He joined the South African Labour Party and, in 1942, was elected to the Johannesburg City Council. From the mid-1950s to the mid 1980s he reported on foreign affairs for the UK's Observer. In 1960 he married Margaret Jean Roberts. In 1964 Colin and Margaret Legum published South Africa: Crisis for the West, in which they argued for economic sanctions against the South African government to bring an end to apartheid. In 1968 Colin Legum became editor of the annual Africa Contemporary Record. Legum was the author of over 20 books including Pan-Africanism: A Brief History (1962), and Africa: A Handbook of the Continent (1962).


In 1991, the Legums returned to South Africa from Great Britain. In 1999 Colin Legum authored and published Africa Since Independence.


Colin Legum died on 8 July 2003, aged 84. He was survived by his wife (who died in 2007), three daughters and grandchildren.

The collection of papers held at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies Library comprises of papers acquired by Colin Legum on Cyprus, Aden, Malta, and Commonwealth matters, 1950-1977, and include research material, newspaper clippings, articles, notes and correspondence covering the three countries listed as well as Commonwealth discussions on Rhodesia. The material covers an important period in the history of decolonisation. A complete list of material held in this collection, can now be found attached within the ULRLS archives catalogue entry for this collection.

The bulk of Colin Legum's papers were later donated to and are available at Edinburgh University Library.