The Commonwealth and Rhodesia, 1965-1980

This article discusses the significance for the Commonwealth of the period between Rhodesia’s Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) in 1965 and the formal end of British sovereignty in 1980. Rhodesia was one of many severe problems that confronted the Commonwealth during this period, but its response to the UDI helped to shape the contemporary Commonwealth in terms of its organisation, values, and statesmanship. This article suggests that although the independence of Zimbabwe represented a triumph for the Commonwealth, it also generated a mixed legacy because Zimbabwe and the Commonwealth have since failed to live up to the frequently-espoused rhetoric of racial justice, democracy, and human rights.