The Empire's New Clothes : The Myth of the Commonwealth

In the wake of Brexit, the Commonwealth has been identified as an important body for future British trade and diplomacy, but few know what it actually does. How is it organized and what has held it together for so long? How important is the Queen's role as Head of the Commonwealth? Most importantly, why has it had such a troubled recent past, and is it realistic to imagine that its fortunes might be reversed?

In The Empire's New Clothes, Murphy strips away the gilded self-image of the Commonwealth to reveal an irrelevant institution afflicted by imperial amnesia. He offers a personal perspective on this complex and poorly understood institution, and asks if it can ever escape from the shadow of the British Empire to become an organization based on shared values, rather than a shared history.

"Philip Murphy's is a witty, informative and much-needed critique from an insider who writes with a wealth of experience as well as an astute awareness of the gap between rhetoric and reality. His book is a sobering reminder that the Commonwealth has lost whatever relevance it once had and is ready for reinvention – or burial." – Shashi Tharoor, author of Inglorious Empire: What the British Did to India

"In this skillful, witty and deeply-informed book, Philip Murphy has punctured the mythology that still hangs over the Commonwealth. He shows convincingly that inertia rather than shared values or common interests has been its main 'glue.' Recent talk in post-Brexit Britain of a 'return' to the Commonwealth betrays a depth of ignorance bordering on fantasy, he suggests, comprehensively skewering the nonsense that the Commonwealth could be a substitute for European Union membership. A brilliant, thought-provoking, and highly readable study that should be essential reading for those who now guide our affairs." – John Darwin, Nuffield College, University of Oxford; author of Unfinished Empire: The Global Expansion of Britain