Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting is going on this week. Relationship with the Commonwealth nations became increasingly crucial for the post-Brexit UK. Somehow, half a century since the dissolution of the British Empire, the motion of Imperial Federalism is crawling out of its grave. The support for a super-national organisation, built on top of the UK and its former white predominant colonies, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, CANZUK, is making a comeback, amassing 6 digits worth of online partition. Under one queen, one free movement area, one custom region, one parliament even, Imperial Federalists are attempting a reunion of the former colonies which have been under home rule for a century. Well, since turning it’s back on Europe, it seemed only natural for Britain to recalibrate its orientation towards its former Empire. Churchill couldn’t have put it better:

“We have our own dream and our own task. We are with Europe, but not of it. We are linked but not combined. We are interested and associated but not absorbed. If Britain must choose between Europe and the open sea, she must always choose the open sea.” — Winston Churchill

Well Said.

Reincarnation of the Empire

Let’s take a step back to take a look at the past. The Empire where the sun never sets was dismantled by, ironically, one of its former colonies, the united states of America.

That’s right, the bloody Yanks.

Though coming out victorious of both World Wars, the British Empire and its influence diminished substantially after each of the wars. After the WW2, Britain was practically broke. They went to the US for help. In exchange for a bailout, the UK had to give up the Imperial Preference system, the last bit of significant tight between Britain and its colonies. Feeling betrayed, Australia and New Zealand had to venture and look for new economic and political partners, namely, the US of A.

Having lost its Empire and relegated from world superpowers, Britain had to, albeit unwillingly, embrace Europe. Until political pundit, David Cameron got voted in. We know all too well what happened next.

A Real Deal?

There are two types of Brexiters. Ones that hate the bureaucratic system, and do not want the UK to be in a super-national organisation. And there’s those who hate Europe. CANZUK would be an apparently preferred arrangement for the later type. Same Queen, same language, predominantly white, parliamentary democracy, common law, these nations do have a lot in common. But before we got all too thrilled about a reunion of the commonwealth alumni, let see if it were as good as we thought.

Since independence, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand had developed their respective distinct national identities throughout the last century. The odds of a super-national political construct emerging on these countries would be rather slim, not to mention the pending approval from the USA.

Economically, the former colonies had reduced their trading quite drastically with Britain, once their dominant trading partner back in colonial days. In fact none of the CANZ countries made it into top 10 trade partners of the UK.

Bridging the gap between the UK’s trading volume with the EU and with the rest of the CANZUK nations is not an easy mountain to climb. While striking a trade deal or trade deals with the former colonies helps, it would not be, by any means, trivial. Seemingly, CANZUK can suck. It can be worse. If the UK failed to improve its economic and political tie with its colonial alumni and got booted out of the EU in a hard way, the nation will find itself riddle in the limbo of irrelevance, forever and ever.

Now that really sucks.