How Britain's long decolonization model was meant to work

Do we know Britain's long-term plan for turning colonies in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean into self-governing states?

Not as one fixed document, but a recognizable staged model moved from local institutions to security responsibility and eventual self-government, adjusted to each colony's conditions.

The proposed model begins with local elections and stronger political institutions, then transfers policing, law enforcement, and military responsibility in stages. Gradual withdrawal is meant to prevent a power vacuum in which armed institutions can seize control. Boundaries and timing would still depend on local conditions, as the paths of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, the Gold Coast, Sierra Leone, and Kenya differed. Economic diversification also matters because a state dependent on one or two revenue streams is easier for an authoritarian faction to capture. The panel stresses that British self-interest, not altruism, favored stable Commonwealth partners that could trade, uphold law, and receive investment. It traces the transition from empire toward dominion and Commonwealth structures back to the late nineteenth century, long before the rapid post-1945 phase.