Osmolovskaya O. Relations between Great Britain and the Commonwealth (second half of the 40-s - 80-s of the XX c.)

For the first time the thesis on the grounds of the different categories of source materials provides the complex studying the relations between the Great Britain and the Commonwealth (second half of the 40-s - 80-s of the XX century). The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of independent states which originated in the progressive dismantling of the British Empire. A distinguishing feature of Commonwealth activity is the mix between official (governmental) and unofficial (civil society groups and organizations).The Commonwealth has no charter, it is not a rules-bound organization but, instead, Commonwealth members subscribe to a number of declarations which enshrine common standards and principles. The author provides the deep analysis of the peculiarities and main factors of the transformation of the British Empire into the Commonwealth and points out that the process of transformation was characterized by conservation of the successful economic and cultural relations between the Great Britain and the former colonies. The special attention is paid to the main priorities of the foreign policy of the independent countries of the Commonwealth after the Second World War. The author provides the critical review on the Labour and Conservative positions in the Commonwealth issue and concludes that between 1956 and 1963, the effects of European policy on the Commonwealth received an unpredictable response from British public opinion and from the British government. Where the Commonwealth moved to the center of the debate over Europe, this was often a product of party political calculation rather than a direct reflection of deep Commonwealth sentiment or any clarity over the effect closer ties with the other Europeans would have on the Commonwealth. Taking into consideration different levels of cooperation inside the Commonwealth which can be used by the countries of the Commonwealth, the author pays emphasis on possibility of this organization to participate in the peace-keeping process. Historically a Commonwealth role in managing conflict was ambivalent. Two important norms were established early in the 1950-s: there should be no discussion of the internal problems of members at Commonwealth conferences and discussion of intermember disputes could only take place with the express consent of the members involved. This did not prohibit informal discussions of Commonwealth problems at such conferences, but the norms did inhibit the formulation of any Commonwealth consensus and the launching of formal Commonwealth to handle disputes. The author points out that the Commonwealth is not a unitary actor, so different bodies or groupings may act in particular cases. There should be defined four key levels of Commonwealth interaction at which conflict-management process might either originate or be implemented: there are Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings (CHOGMs), the Secretariat, informal networks of Commonwealth leaders particularly concerned about a problem who decide to act in concert using a Commonwealth identity, and the ad hoc special committees or conferences set up to deal with a particular problem as it arises. The deep analysis of relations between Great Britain and other members of the Commonwealth proved that until the 50-s of the XX century within the Commonwealth there was common defense system created in the years of the British Empire. But afterall military cooperation within the Commonwealth was made on the bilateral basis. Key words: Great Britain, the Commonwealth, "new" Commonwealth, foreign policy, political parties, European integration, peace-keeping.