The Emerging Anglosphere

As British Prime Minister Tony Blair held a press conference in the aftermath of today’s London bombings, Australian Prime Minister John Howard stood by his side, much as President Bush stood by Blair’s side after the attacks two weeks ago. The imagery is hard to ignore. There is some serious solidarity between the English-speaking nations of the world.

According to the new book The Anglosphere Challenge by James Bennett, this solidarity is actually part of a new political phenomenon dubbed the Network Commonwealth which is emerging as a consequence of the Internet/interconnectivity revolution. The Anglosphere will be the first of these Network Commonwealths and, because of our shared political freedoms and forward-thinking culture, the English speaking nations are well positioned to lead the world over the next few decades.

The summary of this book alone is enough to fascinate even the most casual of political observers. There is a lot of power behind Bennett’s theories. The speed and ease by which we can now communicate and travel will undoubtedly create significant geo-political changes. And it makes perfect sense that the shared language and culture between Britain, America, Australia and Canada could indeed coalesce into a new form of political union—not one that supplants our current form of government, but actually adds to it.

Increasingly free trade, shared military campaigns and constant communication between citizens have already fallen into place. Could we be headed for a Network Commonwealth? It could happen, I think. Bennett’s book is definitely worth checking out.