The Commonwealth

The Commonwealth

The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 56 independent and equal countries. It is home to 2.5 billion people, and includes both advanced economies and developing countries. 33 of our members are small states, including many island nations. Our member governments have agreed to shared goals like development, democracy and peace. Our values and principles are expressed in the Commonwealth Charter.

The Commonwealth Secretariat is the intergovernmental organisation that supports member countries to achieve the Commonwealth’s aims of development, democracy and peace. It publishes authoritative, evidence-based research and knowledge products for policymakers, academics, professionals and wider publics across the world. Our areas of focus and expertise include small and developing states; environment and climate change; democracy, law and government; and social issues concerning young people, gender, health and education.

Small Change or Real Change?

Gender equality is essential for sustained economic growth and for democracy, peace and security. This book presents key thinking on a topic that is of international concern: how to ensure that sufficient financial resources are available through aid modalities and from domestic sources to effect the changes to make gender equality a reality.

  • Imprint: Commonwealth Secretariat
  • Format: Paperback
  • ISBN: 9780850928662
  • Publication Date: Dec 2008
  • Availability: Temporarily out of stock: Usually despatched in 14-18 days

The Blue Economy and Small States

Island nations have benefited from their ocean resources, with marine uses and activities contributing to their economic development. There is a growing appreciation of the critical role oceans play in sustainable economic growth and the need to manage and protect coastal and marine ecosystems that are the fundamental basis for that growth.

  • Format: Paperback
  • ISBN: 9781849291569
  • Publication Date: Sep 2016
  • Availability: In Stock - Despatched Within 5 Working Days

Judicial Bench Book on Violence Against Women in Commonwealth East Africa

The Judicial Bench Book on Violence Against Women in Commonwealth East Africa situates VAW in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. By placing VAW within the socio-cultural and legal context of the region, the bench book will enhance the ability of judicial officers to handle cases of VAW, both within a human rights as well as a gender perspective.

  • Format: Paperback
  • ISBN: 9781849291613
  • Publication Date: Jan 2017
  • Availability: In Stock - Despatched Within 5 Working Days

Effectiveness of Aid for Trade in Small and Vulnerable Economies

Massimiliano Calì

This Economic Paper presents the first analyses of the use and effectiveness of Aid for Trade (AfT), the initiative to help developing countries boost their involvement in the global economy. It examines the extent to which SVEs have been able to access AfT funds and to what extent this assistance has helped them to improve their trade performance.

  • Imprint: Commonwealth Secretariat
  • Format: Paperback
  • ISBN: 9781849290487
  • Publication Date: Mar 2011
  • Availability: Temporarily out of stock: Usually despatched in 14-18 days

Small States

This unique annual collection of key economic and statistical data on states with fewer than 5 million inhabitants is an essential reference for economists, planners and policy-makers working on issues of concern to small states. This volume contains 68 tables covering development indicators and 4 articles focusing on the green economy.

  • Imprint: Commonwealth Secretariat
  • Format: Paperback
  • ISBN: 9781849290791
  • Publication Date: Dec 2012
  • Availability: Temporarily out of stock: Usually despatched in 14-18 days

Educators in Exile

Barry Sesnan

This study addresses a gap in the literature on the role and status of teachers in emergencies. Through field research from Kenya, South Africa and Uganda, it identifies issues facing refugee teachers and makes recommendations on how policy can address their needs, and thus improve access to education to populations affected by an emergency.

  • Imprint: Commonwealth Secretariat
  • Format: Paperback
  • ISBN: 9781849290913
  • Publication Date: Feb 2013
  • Availability: Temporarily out of stock: Usually despatched in 14-18 days

Gender Responsive Investment Handbook

Vanessa Erogbogbo

Gender Responsive Investment is a process of ensuring gender-equitable access to financial services and investment. This Handbook supports policy-makers to identify the policies, laws and regulations that hinder women's access to finance, and assists financial institutions to deliver inclusive, well-designed products and services for women.

  • Imprint: Commonwealth Secretariat
  • Format: Paperback
  • ISBN: 9781849291002
  • Publication Date: Jun 2013
  • Availability: Temporarily out of stock: Usually despatched in 14-18 days

The Right to Trade

Joseph E. Stiglitz

Aid for trade has not delivered on its initial promise. To create a genuinely pro-development trade liberalisation agenda, Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph E Stiglitz and Andrew Charlton put forward proposals that will help international trade work for developing countries and preserve a development-friendly multilateral trading system.

  • Imprint: Commonwealth Secretariat
  • Format: Paperback
  • ISBN: 9781849291057
  • Publication Date: Jun 2013
  • Availability: Temporarily out of stock: Usually despatched in 14-18 days

Transitioning to a Green Economy

Nadine Smith

What does the concept 'green economy' look like in practice? This book contains case studies from eight small states: Botswana, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Mauritius, Nauru, Samoa and Seychelles. It provides insights into the success of various initiatives and highlights how small states themselves are making practical progress.

  • Imprint: Commonwealth Secretariat
  • Format: Paperback
  • ISBN: 9781849291279
  • Publication Date: Mar 2014
  • Availability: Temporarily out of stock: Usually despatched in 14-18 days

Youth and Development in Africa

Report of a youth seminar that brought together experts in the field of youth organisation and training in Commonwealth Africa to share ideas and experiences. The seminar considered the problem of transition from a traditional to a modern society, and how to equip young people with the skills, attitudes and opportunities to make the transference.

  • Format: Paperback
  • ISBN: 9780850920239
  • Publication Date: Jan 1970
  • Availability: Temporarily out of stock: Usually despatched in 14-18 days

Without Women No Development

Madhuri Shah

This handbook presents fifteen case studies on the non-formal education of women from Commonwealth countries in the Asia region: Bangladesh, India, Malaysia and Sri Lanka. Each section is accompanied by an introduction which highlights the major points of the case studies of the country.

  • Format: Paperback
  • ISBN: 9780850922837
  • Publication Date: Jan 1986
  • Availability: In Stock - Despatched Within 5 Working Days

Village Level Aquaculture Development in Africa

H.R. King

The current status and development of small-scale village based aquaculture, particularly fish farming, in Africa, has been the subject of some discussion in recent years. The ensuing conclusions and recommendations were crystallized in a 10-point Resolution on Village Aquaculture Development in Africa.

  • Format: Paperback
  • ISBN: 9780850923278
  • Publication Date: Jan 1988
  • Availability: In Stock - Despatched Within 5 Working Days

A Guide to the Medicinal Plants of Coastal Guyana

Deborah A. Lachman-White

This book describes and illustrates plants used medicinally in coastal Guyana. It includes entries for 173 native and naturalised Guyanese plants, as well as a few cultivated species. Of these, 148 are illustrated by line drawings, the majority of which have been created by local artists.

  • Format: Paperback
  • ISBN: 9780850923872
  • Publication Date: Jan 1992
  • Availability: In Stock - Despatched Within 5 Working Days

Growing Good Tropical Trees for Planting

K.A. Longman

This Manual is the third in a series of readable, well illustrated handbooks about propagating and planting tropical trees. The procedures described in this series of Manuals may be used with the majority of woody species to provide diverse seedling or clonal mixtures.

  • Format: Paperback
  • ISBN: 9780850925357
  • Publication Date: Jan 1998
  • Availability: In Stock - Despatched Within 5 Working Days

Compendium of Election Laws, Practices and Cases of Selected Commonwealth Countries, Volume 2, Part 2

Carl W. Dundas

This compendium presents the constitutional provisions and election laws of a number of selected Commonwealth countries in a user-friendly way.

  • Format: Hardback
  • ISBN: 9780850925753
  • Publication Date: Jan 1998
  • Availability: Temporarily out of stock: Usually despatched in 14-18 days

Promoting Good Governance

Sam Agere

This book aims to show that a strong and achieving public service is a necessary condition for a competitively successful nation. The concept of good governance is linked with institutionalised values such as democracy, observance of human rights and greater effectiveness of the public sector.

  • Format: Paperback
  • ISBN: 9780850926293
  • Publication Date: Jan 2000
  • Availability: In Stock - Despatched Within 5 Working Days