Business, the Commonwealth and the Rhetoric of Development: The Federation of Commonwealth Chambers of Commerce and Africa, 1945–1974

A comparative analysis of Indian and Chinese FDI into Africa: The role of governance and alliances

“…In contrast, the CW alliance is rooted in a shared colonial history. It seeks development, democracy and peace among its member countries as its goals and has a common charter that binds members together (Dilley, 2020;Kirby, 2011). Such an alliance does not necessitate direct investments into specific sectors like infrastructure (as in the case of Chinese OFDI) to guarantee entry into the CW club, but it works indirectly to influence investment choices for India.…”

“…Established in 1926, the CW is an alliance that aims to promote better governance amongst its 54 member countries to achieve political, social and economic development 1 , making it a multilateral alliance by nature (McKenzie, 2002). Member countries of the CW also have a colonial legacy, a shared historical past as former colonies of the Great Britain, which binds them into an informal institutional framework of relationships and the English language as common lingua franca (Dilley, 2020;Glaister, Driffield and Lin, 2020).…”

“…India fundamentally embraces accountability and free public voice through its 'Constitution' and the membership of the Commonwealth (CW). Promoting good governance, democracy, co-operation, and shared value creation among its member states are the key principles and values of the CW (Dilley, 2020;Kirby, 2011). In contrast, often China is criticized globally for state sponsored censorship, opaqueness in governance, and suppressing democratic rights (Distelhorst, 2017;Prasenjit & Perry, 2020;Tai, 2014).…”

Development, Inc.? The EEC, Britain, Post-Colonial Overseas Development Aid, and Business

“…In Brussels, Powell judged British firms "unadventurous." 109 Tellingly, an expensive advert in the Financial Times for the London Chamber of Commerce's Lomé Conference had apparently generated only seven British bookings. 110 British firms were especially reluctant to bid for contracts in francophone African countries that had attracted the lion's share of funding under EDF IV.…”