The Commonwealth takes form both as an intergovernmental organisation and as a network of civil society associations. Indeed, the civil society Commonwealth (in the shape of professional bodies and nongovernmental organizations) predates the interstate Commonwealth by more than half a century. This chapter examines how civil society activities have and have not pushed the intergovernmental Commonwealth to practice greater public accountability. The discussion begins with a short overview of the history of the Commonwealth and its place in global governance. It is noted that the Anglophone Commonwealth has used its advantage of the lingua franca of globalization, English, to identify and treat a range of global issues: from being in the vanguard of the anti-apartheid movement to more recently espousing respect for diversity. A second section of the chapter then reviews the organisations and programmes that make up civil society in the context of the Commonwealth. A third and longer section assesses in detail how these civil society activities have and have not made the intergovernmental Commonwealth more accountable, in terms of greater public transparency, more public consultations, more public monitoring and evaluation, and more responsiveness (for example, with policy adjustments and corrections). In this regard it is argued that civil society engagement has indeed raised the accountability of the intergovernmental Commonwealth, especially around the biennial summits. A fourth section emphasises that accountability is as much a question for civil society quarters as official circles and explores how well Commonwealth civil society associations are addressing these challenges.