History Publications
In the National Interest: Dominions' Support for Britain and the Commonwealth after the Second World War
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-2006
Volume
34
Issue
4
Journal
The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History
First Page
553
Last Page
576
URL with Digital Object Identifier
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03086530600991472
Abstract
Was British confidence that the Commonwealth could bolster its international status and extend its global reach after the Second World War a product of self-delusion or nostalgia? This paper examines three crucial aspects of relations between Britain and Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa in the 1940s – diplomacy, economics and defence – to show the extensive and tangible support that the ‘old dominions’ extended to Britain. They opted to back Britain because it served their individual national interests well. British hopes that the post-war Commonwealth would be an effective association were founded on ample evidence, although the British desire to lead and dominate was confounded by the fact that Ottawa, Canberra, Wellington and Pretoria were national centres in their own right.
