Why a lasting Commonwealth would need political inclusion

A lasting imperial federation is argued to require a broad common identity that includes the majority of the population. One panellist proposes a different approach to African colonies, drawing on what they regard as a more inclusive approach in India before the mid-1930s. Settler segregation, including the Kenyan example, would obstruct that shared identity. A qualification is that colonies contain groups with their own aims, which do not automatically match a British plan for Commonwealth cooperation. Colonial systems inherited from other powers add further complications. Contradictory British domestic policies are also blamed for weakening Commonwealth ties. Survival remains a difficult conditional scenario, dependent on political inclusion as well as economic usefulness.