''The Round Table: The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs'' is an international relations journal established in 1910 relating to the
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the ...
.
History
The journal was established in 1910 as an off-shoot of the
Round Table movement
The Round Table movement, founded in 1909, was an association of organisations promoting closer union between Britain and its self-governing colonies.
History of the movement
The Round Table Movement evolved out of Lord Milner's Kindergarten ...
, established the previous year to promote closer union between the United Kingdom and its self-governing colonies. It was initially subtitled, 'A Quarterly Review of the Politics of the British Empire'. Though some of those associated with the Round Table movement promoted
Imperial Federation
The Imperial Federation refers to a series of proposals in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to create a federal union to replace the existing British Empire, presenting it as an alternative to colonial imperialism. No such proposal was eve ...
, a proposal to create a federated union in place of the existing
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...
, it was early on agreed that the journal 'should not come out flat-footed' in favour of constitutional change,
and disagreements within the Round Table movement meant that it never did.
It was founded by
Lord Milner
Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner, (23 March 1854 – 13 May 1925) was a British statesman and colonial administrator who played a role in the formulation of British foreign and domestic policy between the mid-1890s and early 1920s. From ...
, former High Commissioner for
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
,
Lord Selborne
Earl of Selborne, in the County of Southampton, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1882 for the lawyer and Liberal politician Roundell Palmer, 1st Baron Selborne, along with the subsidiary title of Viscount Wo ...
, his successor, and members of "
Milner's Kindergarten
Milner's Kindergarten is the informal name of a group of Britons who served in the South African Civil Service under High Commissioner Alfred, Lord Milner, between the Second Boer War and the founding of the Union of South Africa in 1910. It ...
", who were associated with Milner through their work in the South African Civil Service, including:
*
Lionel Curtis
*
Philip Kerr
Philip Ballantyne Kerr (22 February 1956 – 23 March 2018) was a British author, best known for his Bernie Gunther series of historical detective thrillers.
Early life
Kerr was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, where his father was an enginee ...
–
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
politician and, later, British Ambassador to United States
*
Geoffrey Dawson
George Geoffrey Dawson (25 October 1874 – 7 November 1944) was editor of ''The Times'' from 1912 to 1919 and again from 1923 until 1941. His original last name was Robinson, but he changed it in 1917. He married Hon. Margaret Cecilia Lawley, ...
– ''
Times
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events, and a fundamental quantity of measuring systems.
Time or times may also refer to:
Temporal measurement
* Time in physics, defined by its measurement
* Time standard, civil time speci ...
'' journalist
*
Robert Brand
Robert Henry Brand, 1st Baron Brand, (30 October 1878 – 23 August 1963) was a British civil servant and businessman.
Early life
Brand was born on 30 October 1878. He was the fourth son of the former Susan Henrietta Cavendish and Henry Brand, ...
They were soon joined by others including
Leo Amery
Leopold Charles Maurice Stennett Amery, (22 November 1873 – 16 September 1955), also known as L. S. Amery, was a British Conservative Party politician and journalist. During his career, he was known for his interest in military preparedness, ...
,
F.S. Oliver, and
Alfred Zimmern
Sir Alfred Eckhard Zimmern (26 January 1879–24 November 1957) was an English classical scholar, historian, and political scientist writing on international relations. A British policymaker during World War I and a prominent liberal thinker, Z ...
.
In line with the developing idea of the British Empire turning into a 'Commonwealth' promoting progressive self-government, which emerged from the 'studies' of the Round Table movement, the sub-title of the journal was changed in 1919 to 'A Quarterly Review of the Politics of the British Commonwealth'.
Post-
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, its subtitle was altered to 'A Quarterly Review of British Commonwealth Affairs' to reflect the changing nature of the Commonwealth and the lesser concentration on the domestic politics of Commonwealth member states. It became less a journal espousing a particular view and more a forum to exchange opinions.
Its sub-title was changed again in 1966, to 'The Commonwealth Quarterly'.
The journal temporarily ceased in 1982 but was revived in 1983 with its current sub-title.
Journal content
Until 1966 all articles in the journal were anonymous, ostensibly so that people in positions of authority could write frankly without fear of the consequences. Most of the authors of articles prior to 1966 have been identified,
and included
Lord Balogh,
Sir Evelyn Baring,
Sir Alexander Cadogan,
Isaac Deutscher
Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was the ...
,
Lord Gladwyn,
Lord Hankey,
Elspeth Huxley
Elspeth Joscelin Huxley CBE (née Grant; 23 July 1907 – 10 January 1997) was an English writer, journalist, broadcaster, magistrate, environmentalist, farmer, and government adviser. She wrote over 40 books, including her best-known lyric ...
,
T.E. Lawrence
Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British archaeologist, army officer, diplomat, and writer who became renowned for his role in the Arab Revolt (1916–1918) and the Sinai and Palestine Campaign (1915–191 ...
,
Sir Harry Luke,
Ali A. Mazrui,
Sir Lewis Namier
Sir Lewis Bernstein Namier (; 27 June 1888 – 19 August 1960) was a British historian of Polish-Jewish background. His best-known works were ''The Structure of Politics at the Accession of George III'' (1929), ''England in the Age of the Ameri ...
,
Lionel Robbins
Lionel Charles Robbins, Baron Robbins, (22 November 1898 – 15 May 1984) was a British economist, and prominent member of the economics department at the London School of Economics (LSE). He is known for his leadership at LSE, his proposed def ...
,
Garfield Todd
Sir Reginald Stephen Garfield Todd (13 July 1908 – 13 October 2002) was a liberal Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia from 1953 to 1958 and later became an opponent of white minority rule in Rhodesia.
Background
Todd was born in Invercargil ...
,
Arnold Toynbee, and
Sir Frederick Whyte. An index to all news stories and authors from 1910 to 1966 can be foun
''here''
From 1910 until the 1960s the journal carried regular news and analysis contributed by the Round Table groups in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. There were also regular articles from India, from 1918 the United States, from 1921 the Irish Free State, and after the Second World War Pakistan, Ceylon, Southern Rhodesia, and east Africa. These regular contributions all petered out in the 1960s,
Since 1983 the journal has included a regular 'Commonwealth Update' section, summarising political and other developments across the Commonwealth. This was written for many years by
Derek Ingram. The current Update editor is Oren Gruenbaum.
Since 2012 the journal has included a regular 'Opinion' section, comprising shorter and usually policy-relevant pieces.
Other activities
The Round Table runs a website which provides news and commentary on Commonwealth topics, additional to what is published in the journal. The current editor is
Debbie Ransome.
The editorial board of the journal organises occasional conferences and public meetings on Commonwealth matters, usually including a one-day public conference in the UK before each CHOGM, and a two-day residential conference after. Reports are published on the website.
In addition to the editorial board in the UK and an international advisory board drawn from across the Commonwealth, there are 'chapters' of the journal in Australia, Bangladesh, India, and Malaysia, which organise their own activities.
The Round Table annually awards a Harry Hodson prize for a publishable article by anyone aged 30 years or younger as on 31 December of the year in which the article is submitted, and a Peter Lyon prize, for the best policy-relevant article published in each calendar year.
From 2009 to 2018, the Round Table, in association with its publisher, Routledge, funded a Routledge/Round Table Studentship, for a student from a Commonwealth country other than the UK, studying for the MA in Human Rights at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London, Since 2019 it has funded two annual Routledge/Round Table Commonwealth Studentships for doctoral students, one for a UK-based student and the other for a student from another Commonwealth country.
List of editors
* 1910–16:
Philip Kerr
Philip Ballantyne Kerr (22 February 1956 – 23 March 2018) was a British author, best known for his Bernie Gunther series of historical detective thrillers.
Early life
Kerr was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, where his father was an enginee ...
, later
British Ambassador to the United States
The British Ambassador to the United States is in charge of the British Embassy, Washington, D.C., the United Kingdom's diplomatic mission to the United States. The official title is His Majesty's Ambassador to the United States of America.
T ...
* 1917–19:
Reginald Coupland
Sir Reginald Coupland (2 August 1884 – 6 November 1952) was an English historian of the British Empire. Between 1920 and 1948, he held the Beit Professorship of Colonial History at the University of Oxford.
Coupland is known for his scholarsh ...
, Beit Professor of History at
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
* 1919–20:
Geoffrey Dawson
George Geoffrey Dawson (25 October 1874 – 7 November 1944) was editor of ''The Times'' from 1912 to 1919 and again from 1923 until 1941. His original last name was Robinson, but he changed it in 1917. He married Hon. Margaret Cecilia Lawley, ...
, former editor of ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...
''
* 1921–34: John Dove
* 1934–39:
Henry Vincent Hodson, later editor of the ''
Sunday Times''
* 1939–41:
Reginald Coupland
Sir Reginald Coupland (2 August 1884 – 6 November 1952) was an English historian of the British Empire. Between 1920 and 1948, he held the Beit Professorship of Colonial History at the University of Oxford.
Coupland is known for his scholarsh ...
*1941:
Geoffrey Crowther
Geoffrey Crowther, Baron Crowther Kt. (13 May 1907 – 5 February 1972) was a British economist, journalist, educationalist and businessman. He was editor of ''The Economist'' from 1938 to 1956.His major works include 'Economics for Democrats'(1 ...
*1941-42:
Henry Brooke
* 1942–44:
Geoffrey Dawson
George Geoffrey Dawson (25 October 1874 – 7 November 1944) was editor of ''The Times'' from 1912 to 1919 and again from 1923 until 1941. His original last name was Robinson, but he changed it in 1917. He married Hon. Margaret Cecilia Lawley, ...
, former editor of ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...
''
* 1945–65:
Dermot Morrah
* 1965–70: Leonard Beaton
* 1970-71:
Michael Howard and
Robert Jackson
* 1972–75:
Robert Jackson
* 1975–79: Alexander MacLeod
* 1979–81: Evan Charlton
* 1982: publication suspended
* 1983–2004: Peter Lyon
* 2004–08: Andrew Williams
* 2009–present: Venkat Iyer,
University of Ulster
sco, Ulstèr Universitie
, image = Ulster University coat of arms.png
, caption =
, motto_lang =
, mottoeng =
, latin_name = Universitas Ulidiae
, established = 1865 – Magee College 1953 - Magee Un ...
References
External links
* Archive.or
''(sign in to view links and footnotes)''''The Round Table: A Brief History''a
''The Round Table''website.
Background information on The Round Table publication
{{DEFAULTSORT:Round Table Journal, The
Commonwealth Family
English-language journals
International relations journals
Publications established in 1910