Dilemmas of Intra-Commonwealth Representation during the Rhodesian Problem, 1964-65.

By the mid-1960s the arrangements for intra-Commonwealth representation between its sovereign member states were well established. The racial tension engendered by the problem of Rhodesian independence threatened the continued existence of the Commonwealth, but the conventions of Commonwealth diplomatic representation made the problem more difficult to manage. This article examines how Rhodesian attitudes towards the Commonwealth and the exclusion of Rhodesia from the Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference ruled out the possibility of multilateral diplomatic engagement. Opportunities to influence the Rhodesian Government were therefore restricted to bilateral exchanges, but the mechanisms for such diplomatic representation, though technically correct in terms of Commonwealth relations, were limited and inadequate. This historical case study therefore confirms the necessity for sufficient representation between sovereign states and other international actors, but demonstrates that the parties to such a diplomatic relationship can conceive the functions of representation in different terms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]