A royal salute to the Commonwealth
We all know about NATO, it was founded in 1949 after World War 2 to collect the big nations. Following the war there were made several organizations which connect country together. The British Empire established commonwealth and it was after World War II ended the British Empire with all of its colonies was broken up and the organization that we know today as Commonwealth was founded. The union consists of 54 independent member states that are linked together by a common history and set of values. Critics of the Commonwealth emphasize that the organization is an outdated and meaningless construction that builds on xenophobic and oppressive values. In this article “A royal salute to the commonwealth, 2001” by Peter Oborne. In this article there is given answers to the critics and the writer Peter Oborne gives answers to the questions: What will be the role of Commonwealth in the future? Will the organization have anything to say against great powers such as the United States and the European Union?
The first point in the article is about the British royal visit to Canada. Peter Oborne is a journalist and political commentator he followed their trip they among other things visited Canada’s National War Memorial. They are at this location to remember the fallen Canadian soldiers who fought alongside the British during the two world wars. Peter Oborne sees this visit as evidence that the two countries work so well together which can be seen as a direct result of the Commonwealth union.
According to Peter Oborne one of the main points is that the leaders of Britain are looking down on the union. He believes the leaders have focused too much on the relationship with the US and EU, but he thinks it's just a matter of time before the leaders of Britain get their eyes up to the commonwealth. Peter Oborne thinks the Union is a good alternative and it is able to play an important part in world-wide politics.

A recurring theme in the article is "The Importance of Commonwealth community is preserved." Oborne considers that it’s really important because he wants to maintain a good relationship to the remaining countries in the union. Furthermore he wants to keep the commonwealth because he thinks they have a lot of history and some other good values. Oborne means the commonwealth is important in relation to the future in a time when the US and EU countries are going a tough time ahead.
He builds his argumentation on a special kind of words, appeals and symbols.
When he talks about the English government and all the English politicians, he uses a lot of negative words. ”The commonwealth never fitted into New Labour's relentless modernising vision. Blair regarded traditional British values and identities as xenophobic, if not racist"(ll. 32-36) But when it’s becomes to talk about the commonwealth Oborne only uses positive words “Such is this invisible strength of the Commonwealth, the association of independent countries”. (ll. 25-26). In order to convince the reader the importance of the Commonwealth, Osborne uses a lot of logos that appeal to the reader's sense. “Consider the facts: Just under two billion people, approximately one third of the world’s population, live in Commonwealth countries” (ll.39). He also writes about China, as a growing superpower, he tries to convince the reader that the commonwealth may be a good counterbalance to china. “ Commenwealth could prove an important counterbalance to the stealthy rise of totalitarian China, as it seeks stealthy to build its regional influence in Far East through Shanghai Cooperation Organization” (ll 75-77)
In this way Oborne plays on his readers fear of an undemocratic and totalitarian state gaining a lot power all over in the world. He also uses the royal couple, William and Kate as a symbol for Commenwealth. The couple are really popular in UK, you can say Oborne borrow their image and popularity to make his own point. “The crowds who have flocked to see William and Catherine are surely sensing this profound link between our two nations” (ll.19-20) Through Oborne’s argumentation he gives his own opinion about which role the Commonwealth will play in the future. He is convinced about the US and EU countries will get into a financial crisis. “With the gradual fading of the United States, and the semi-collapse of the European Union, we are moving away from a world dominated by one, or at most two, great powers.” (ll 47-49)
The purpose of his article is to criticize the British leader and put a focus on the importance of the union. He wants to show the people and the politicians the importance of the union he wants to realize that the union has an important role. Furthermore it is important to have the union as he believes that Commenwealth can provide a counterbalance to China, which is a rising power. But the question is whether it is realistic that commonwealth can compete with superpowers like China and the United States. Furthermore you can also ask the question about the US and EU countries, whether they will be hit by an economic crisis? It is also important to emphasize his use of arguments and questioning it. Namely that he could easily be more objective and varied way in order to convince his readers that he is right.
The big question is about the future, will it be the United States and EU countries, which together are going to possess most power or will it be China there is going to determine the most or is Oborne right about the commonwealth and commonwealth comes to being a success? Only the future will show if he’s right.