Building Foreign Policy Resilience in the 21st Century: The Concept of Commonwealth

Abstract

Today, the international system is in disarray. One rarely knows who is a friend and who is a foe, and for how long. In such a conjuncture, integrating into dense institutional frameworks or alliances could be seen as the obvious thing to do. It could mean stability and anchor in a stormy world political system. But the reality could be something quite the opposite. Big and powerful countries can pretend to have bellwether foreign policy strategies. The same cannot be said of small countries, especially countries like Serbia, who are seeking to navigate in the middle lane. Here, what is required is flexibility, to be abreast of crises and stay afloat. Today’s international system pushes agile foreign policy systems to seek shelter under practical and functional concepts and methods which provide leeway and latitude. Most importantly, they are looking for accommodation of both divergence and cooperation under an ethic of equality. For this reason, it is my opinion that the value of the “commonwealth” as a concept should be re-assessed and made more adaptable for today’s foreign policy needs. Loose systems of associations will have the advantage of keeping channels of communication open and, at the same time, preserve the much cherished national sovereignty. For countries like Serbia, the system of the commonwealth would allow for the maximisation of national control over its destiny and preserve its resilience.