This article extends analysis of the Commonwealth's significance in Africa, suggesting its diplomatic role persists despite a shift in power dynamics.
Revisiting Olusola Akinrinade’s 1989 study of Africa and the Commonwealth, this article extends the analysis from 1980 to 2025. It argues that the Commonwealth has remained significant to African member states chiefly as a values-based diplomatic forum rather than as a source of material power. The end of apartheid, the rise of African regional organisations and the widening of multipolar partnerships have narrowed its substantive influence, even as its soft-power relevance endures. Its future in Africa will depend on strategic engagement with its strengths in norms, advocacy, election observation and small-state diplomacy.
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Stephen Adewale (2026) studied this question.
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