| Discipline | International relations |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Edited by | Venkat Iyer |
| Publication details | |
| History | 1910–present |
| Publisher | |
| Standard abbreviations | |
| ISO 4 | Round Table |
| Indexing | |
| ISSN | 0035-8533 (print) 1465-4008 (web) |
| OCLC no. | 01764559 |
| Links | |
The Round Table: The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs is an international relations journal established in 1910 relating to the Commonwealth of Nations.
The journal was established in 1910 as an off-shoot of the Round Table movement, established the previous year to promote closer union between the United Kingdom and its self-governing colonies. It was initially subtitled, 'A Quarterly Review of the Politics of the British Empire'. Though some of those associated with the Round Table movement promoted Imperial Federation, a proposal to create a federated union in place of the existing British Empire, it was early on agreed that the journal 'should not come out flat-footed' in favour of constitutional change, [1] and disagreements within the Round Table movement meant that it never did.
It was founded by Lord Milner, former High Commissioner for South Africa, Lord Selborne, his successor, and members of "Milner's Kindergarten", who were associated with Milner through their work in the South African Civil Service, including:
They were soon joined by others including Leo Amery, F.S. Oliver, and Alfred Zimmern.
In line with the developing idea of the British Empire turning into a 'Commonwealth' promoting progressive self-government, which emerged from the 'studies' of the Round Table movement, the sub-title of the journal was changed in 1919 to 'A Quarterly Review of the Politics of the British Commonwealth'.
Post-World War II, its subtitle was altered to 'A Quarterly Review of British Commonwealth Affairs' to reflect the changing nature of the Commonwealth and the lesser concentration on the domestic politics of Commonwealth member states. It became less a journal espousing a particular view and more a forum to exchange opinions. [2] Its sub-title was changed again in 1966, to 'The Commonwealth Quarterly'.
The journal temporarily ceased in 1982 but was revived in 1983 with its current sub-title. [2]
Until 1966 all articles in the journal were anonymous, ostensibly so that people in positions of authority could write frankly without fear of the consequences. Most of the authors of articles prior to 1966 have been identified, [1] and included Lord Balogh, Sir Evelyn Baring, Sir Alexander Cadogan, Isaac Deutscher, Lord Gladwyn, Lord Hankey, Elspeth Huxley, T.E. Lawrence, Sir Harry Luke, Ali A. Mazrui, Sir Lewis Namier, Lionel Robbins, Garfield Todd, Arnold Toynbee, and Sir Frederick Whyte. An index to all news stories and authors from 1910 to 1966 can be found here.
From 1910 until the 1960s the journal carried regular news and analysis contributed by the Round Table groups in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. There were also regular articles from India, from 1918 the United States, from 1921 the Irish Free State, and after the Second World War Pakistan, Ceylon, Southern Rhodesia, and east Africa. These regular contributions all petered out in the 1960s,
Since 1983 the journal has included a regular 'Commonwealth Update' section, summarising political and other developments across the Commonwealth. This was written for many years by Derek Ingram. The current Update editor is Oren Gruenbaum.
Since 2012 the journal has included a regular 'Opinion' section, comprising shorter and usually policy-relevant pieces.
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The Round Table runs a website which provides news and commentary on Commonwealth topics, additional to what is published in the journal. The current editor is Debbie Ransome.
The editorial board of the journal organises occasional conferences and public meetings on Commonwealth matters, usually including a one-day public conference in the UK before each CHOGM, and a two-day residential conference after. Reports are published on the website.
In addition to the editorial board in the UK and an international advisory board drawn from across the Commonwealth, there are 'chapters' of the journal in Australia, Bangladesh, India, and Malaysia, which organise their own activities.
The Round Table annually awards a Harry Hodson prize for a publishable article by anyone aged 30 years or younger as on 31 December of the year in which the article is submitted, and a Peter Lyon prize, for the best policy-relevant article published in each calendar year.
From 2009 to 2018, the Round Table, in association with its publisher, Routledge, funded a Routledge/Round Table Studentship, for a student from a Commonwealth country other than the UK, studying for the MA in Human Rights at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London, Since 2019 it has funded two annual Routledge/Round Table Commonwealth Studentships for doctoral students, one for a UK-based student and the other for a student from another Commonwealth country.
Lionel George Curtis CH (1872–1955) was a British internationalist and author. He was the inspiration for the foundation of Chatham House as well as the US Council On Foreign Relations at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. He was a leading member of Round Table movement. His writings and influence caused the evolution of the former British nations into the Commonwealth.
The Orange River Colony was the British colony created after Britain first occupied (1900) and then annexed (1902) the independent Orange Free State in the Second Boer War. The colony ceased to exist in 1910, when it was absorbed into the Union of South Africa as the Orange Free State Province.
Sir Roger Newdigate's Prize, more commonly the Newdigate Prize, is awarded to students of the University of Oxford for the Best Composition in English verse by an undergraduate student. It was founded in 1806 as a memorial to Sir Roger Newdigate (1719–1806). The winning poem is announced at Encaenia. Instructions are published as follows: "The length of the poem is not to exceed 300 lines. The metre is not restricted to heroic couplets, but dramatic form of composition is not allowed." It is one of the many prizes awarded by this university to students and graduate students.
Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner, was a British statesman and colonial administrator who played a very important role in the formulation of British foreign and domestic policy between the mid-1890s and early 1920s. From December 1916 to November 1918, he was one of the most important members of Prime Minister David Lloyd George's War Cabinet.
George Geoffrey Dawson was editor of The Times from 1912 to 1919 and again from 1923 until 1941. His original last name was Robinson, but he changed it in 1917. He married Hon. Margaret Cecilia Lawley, daughter of Arthur Lawley, 6th Baron Wenlock, in 1919.
Arthur Lawley, 6th Baron Wenlock, was a British colonial administrator who served variously as Administrator of Matabeleland, Governor of Western Australia, Lieutenant-Governor of the Transvaal, and Governor of Madras. The fourth and youngest son of the 2nd Baron Wenlock, he attended Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge, before joining the military. Serving in the Mahdist War, he reached the rank of captain before resigning his commission to pursue other interests. Lawley was then private secretary to his uncle, the 1st Duke of Westminster, and subsequently to the 4th Earl Grey, who he followed to Rhodesia.
Milner's Kindergarten is the informal name of a group of Britons who served in the South African civil service under High Commissioner Alfred, Lord Milner, between the Second Boer War and the founding of the Union of South Africa in 1910. It is possible that the kindergarten was Colonial Secretary Joseph Chamberlain's idea, for in his diary dated 14 August 1901, Chamberlain's assistant secretary Geoffrey Robinson wrote, "Another long day occupied chiefly in getting together a list of South African candidates for Lord Milner – from people already in the (Civil) Service". They were in favour of the unification of South Africa and, ultimately, an Imperial Federation with the British Empire itself. On Milner's retirement, most continued in the service under Lord Selborne, who was Milner's successor, and the number two-man at the Colonial Office. The Kindergarten started off with 12 men, most of whom were Oxford graduates and English civil servants, who made the trip to South Africa in 1901 to help Lord Milner rebuild the war torn economy. Quite young and inexperienced, one of them brought with him a biography written by F.S. Oliver on Alexander Hamilton. He read the book, and the plan for rebuilding the new government of South Africa was based along the lines of the book, Hamilton's federalist philosophy, and his knowledge of treasury operations. The name, "Milner's Kindergarten", although first used derisively by Sir William Thackeray Marriott, was adopted by the group as its name.
Sir Ivison Stevenson Macadam was the first Director-General of the Royal Institute of International Affairs, and the founding President of the National Union of Students.
A ginger group is a formal or informal group within an organisation seeking to influence its direction and activity. The term comes from the phrase ginger up, meaning to enliven or stimulate. Ginger groups work to alter the organisation's policies, practices, or office-holders, while still supporting its general goals. Ginger groups sometimes form within the political parties of Commonwealth countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, and Pakistan.
The three Round Table Conferences of 1930–1932 were a series of peace conferences organized by the British Government and Indian political personalities to discuss constitutional reforms in India. These started in November 1930 and ended in December 1932. They were conducted as per the recommendation of Muhammad Ali Jinnah to Viceroy Lord Irwin and Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald, and by the report submitted by the Simon Commission in May 1930. Demands for Swaraj or self-rule in India had been growing increasingly strong. B. R. Ambedkar, Jinnah, Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, V. S. Srinivasa Sastri, Sir Muhammad Zafrulla Khan, K. T. Paul and Mirabehn were key participants from India. By the 1930s, many British politicians believed that India needed to move towards dominion status. However, there were significant disagreements between the Indian and the British political parties that the Conferences would not resolve. The key topic was about constitution and India which was mainly discussed in that conference. There were three Round Table Conferences from 1930 to 1932.
Jerome Davis Greene was an American banker and a trustee to several major organizations and trusts including the Brookings Institution and the Rockefeller Foundation.
The Nehru Report of 1928 was a memorandum All Parties Conference in British India to appeal for a new dominion status and a federal set-up of government for the constitution of India. It also proposed for the Joint Electorates with reservation of seats for minorities in the legislatures. It was prepared by a committee chaired by Motilal Nehru, with Jawaharlal Nehru acting as the secretary. There were nine other members in the committee. The final report was signed by Motilal Nehru and Jawaharlal Nehru, Ali Imam, Tej Bahadur Sapru, Madhav Shrihari Aney, Mangal Singh, Shuaib Qureshi, Subhas Chandra Bose, and G. R. Pradhan.
The Round Table movement, founded in 1909, was an association of organisations promoting closer union between Britain and its self-governing colonies.
Sir John Evelyn Leslie Wrench was a British author and journalist who was editor of The Spectator. He was the founder of the Royal Over-Seas League and the English-Speaking Union, both to foster international communication and education. His initial gamble in the post card business, due to the popularity of post cards, proved a great success. By the turn of the century, half of all the post cards sold in Paris came from his stores. He later became a prominent author on matters relating to the British Empire.
The Institute of Race Relations (IRR) is a think tank based in the United Kingdom. It was formed in 1958 in order to publish research on race relations worldwide, and in 1972 was transformed into an "anti-racist think tank".
Sir Reginald Coupland was an English historian of the British Empire. Between 1920 and 1948, he held the Beit Professorship of Colonial History at the University of Oxford.
Frederick Scott Oliver, known as F. S. Oliver, was a prominent Scottish political writer and businessman who advocated tariff reform and imperial union for the British Empire. He played an important role in the Round Table movement, collaborated in the downfall of Prime Minister H. H. Asquith's wartime government and its replacement by David Lloyd George in 1916, and pressed for "home rule all round" to resolve the political conflict between Britain and Irish nationalists.
The Caribbean Artists Movement (CAM) was an influential cultural initiative, begun in London, England, in 1966 and active until about 1972, that focused on the works being produced by Caribbean writers, visual artists, poets, dramatists, film makers, actors and musicians. The key people involved in setting up CAM were Edward Kamau Brathwaite, John La Rose and Andrew Salkey. As Angela Cobbinah has written, "the movement had an enormous impact on Caribbean arts in Britain. In its intense five-year existence it set the dominant artistic trends, at the same time forging a bridge between West Indian migrants and those who came to be known as black Britons."
Kayode Soyinka is a Nigerian journalist, publisher, and author.
