Editing Commonwealth (section)

===International bodies===
====Commonwealth of Nations====
{{Main|Commonwealth of Nations}}
The [[Commonwealth of Nations]]—formerly the British Commonwealth—is a voluntary association of 56 independent sovereign states, most of which were once part of the [[British Empire]]. The Commonwealth's membership includes both republics and monarchies. The [[Head of the Commonwealth]] is King [[Charles III]], who also reigns as monarch directly in the 15 member states known as [[Commonwealth realm]]s since his accession in 2022.

====Commonwealth of Independent States====
{{Main|Commonwealth of Independent States}}
The [[Commonwealth of Independent States]] (CIS) is a loose [[military alliance|alliance]] or confederation consisting of nine of the 15 [[Post-Soviet states|former Soviet Republics]], the exceptions being [[Turkmenistan]] (a CIS associate member), [[Lithuania]], [[Latvia]], [[Estonia]], [[Ukraine]], and [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]]. [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] left the CIS in August 2008 following [[2008 South Ossetia war|the 2008 invasion]] of the [[Russia]]n military into [[South Ossetia]] and [[Abkhazia]]. Its creation signalled the dissolution of the [[Soviet Union]], its purpose being to "allow a civilised divorce" between the [[Republics of the Soviet Union|Soviet Republics]]. The CIS has developed as a forum by which the member-states can co-operate in [[economics]], [[Defence (military)|defence]], and [[foreign policy]].<ref>Constantine, Michalopoulos, and Tarr David. "The economics of customs unions in the Commonwealth of Independent States." Post-Soviet Geography and Economics 38, no. 3 (1997): 125-143.</ref>