Associated state

An associated state is the minor partner in a formal, free relationship between

a political territory with a degree of statehood and a (usually larger) nation, for
which no other specific term, such as protectorate, is adopted.

The details of such free association are contained in United Nations General
Assembly resolution 1541 (XV) Principle VI,[1] a Compact of Free Association
or Associated Statehood Act and are specific to the countries involved. In the
case of the Cook Islands and Niue, the details of their free association
arrangement are contained in several documents, such as their respective
constitutions, the 1983 Exchange of Letters between the governments of New
Zealand and the Cook Islands, and the 2001 Joint Centenary Declaration. Free
associated states can be described as independent or not, but free
association is not a qualification of an entity's statehood or status as a
subject of international law.

Informally it can be considered more widely: from a post-colonial form of

amical protection, or protectorate, to confederation of unequal members
when the lesser partner(s) delegate(s) to the major one (often the former
colonial power) some authority normally exclusively retained by a sovereign
state, usually in such fields as defense and foreign relations, while often
enjoying favorable economic terms such as market access.

According to some scholars, a form of association based on benign

protection and delegation of sovereignty can be seen as a defining feature of
microstates.[2]

A federacy, a type of government where at least one of the subunits in an

otherwise unitary state enjoys autonomy like a subunit within a federation, is
similar to an associated state, with such subunit(s) having considerable
independence in internal issues, except foreign affairs and defense. Yet in
terms of international law it is a completely different situation because the
subunits are not independent international entities and have no potential right
to independence.

Origin of the concept

The concept of associated state was originally used to refer to arrangements

under which Western powers afforded a (sometimes very limited) degree of
self-government to some of their colonial possessions after the end of World
War II. Soon after the conclusion of the war, the French colonial territories of
Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos were designated as 'associated states' within
the newly-created French Union. The arrangement afforded these countries a
limited degree of internal and external sovereignty (for example, they were
allowed to enter into diplomatic relations with a small number of countries),
but for the most part reserved for France effective control over foreign
relations, as well as military, judicial, administrative, and economic
activities.[3][4] According to some French jurists, the concept of associated
state under the 1946 French constitution automatically extended to the
territories of Morocco and Tunisia, which up until then had been protectorates
of France. However, unlike their counterparts in Southeast Asia, neither
Morocco nor Tunisia became part of the French Union.[5] The associated state
concept as applied to former French colonial possessions has been described
as 'neo-colonial' as it did not afford them real internal or external
sovereignty.[3] All of the aforementioned associated states eventually became
fully independent states.

Puerto Rico is defined as an "associated free state" (Estado Libre Asociado) in

its 1952 constitution. However, it remains a territory of the United States.
While exercising substantial internal self-government, Puerto Rico is
subordinated to the U.S. Constitution in areas such as foreign affairs or
defense. For this reason, it is not considered to be a full-fledged associated
state under either international or U.S. domestic law.[6][7]

States currently in a formal association

The Cook Islands and Niue have the status of "self-government in free
association".[8] New Zealand cannot legislate for them,[9][10] and in some
situations they are considered sovereign states.[11] In foreign relations both
interact as sovereign states,[12][13] and they have been allowed to sign on as a
state to United Nations treaties and bodies.[12][14] New Zealand does not
consider them to be constitutionally sovereign states due to their continued
use of New Zealand citizenship.[8][15] Both have established their own
nationality and immigration regimes.[16]

The Federated States of Micronesia (since 1986), the Marshall Islands (since
1986), and Palau (since 1994) are associated with the United States under
what is known as the Compact of Free Association, giving the states
international sovereignty and ultimate control over their territory. However, the
governments of those areas have agreed to allow the United States to provide
defense; the U.S. federal government fund grants and access to U.S. social
services for citizens of these areas. The United States benefits from its ability
to use the islands as strategic military bases.
 Associated International
Minor partner Associated with Level of association
since status

New Zealand acts on

behalf of the Cook Not a UN
Islands in foreign member
affairs and defense state.
   New issues, but only Independence
   Cook Islands 4 August 1965
Zealand when requested so in foreign
by the Cook Islands relations
Government and recognised by
with its advice and the UN.
consent.[17][18][19]

United States
provides defense,
funding grants, and
   United access to U.S. social UN member
   Marshall Islands 21 October 1986
States services for citizens state
of these areas under
the Compact of Free
Association.[20]

  Federated States    United 3 November United States UN member

of Micronesia States 1986 provides defense, state
funding grants, and
access to U.S. social

services for citizens

of these areas under
the Compact of Free
Association.[21]

New Zealand acts on

Not a UN
behalf of Niue in
member
foreign affairs and
state.
defense issues, but
   New Independence
   Niue 19 October 1974 only when requested
Zealand in foreign
so by the Niue
relations
Government and
recognised by
with its advice and
the UN.
consent.[22][23]

United States
 provides defense,
funding grants, and
   United access to U.S. social UN member
   Palau 1 October 1994
States services for citizens state
of these areas under
the Compact of Free
Association.[24]

Former associated states

A formal association existed under the Associated Statehood Act 1967

between the United Kingdom and the six West Indies Associated States.
These were former British colonies in the Caribbean: Antigua (1967–1981),
Dominica (1967–1978), Grenada (1967–1974), Saint Christopher-Nevis-
Anguilla (1967–1983), Saint Lucia (1967–1979), and Saint Vincent (1969–
1979). Under this arrangement, each state had internal self-government, but
the UK retained responsibility for foreign relations and defense.[25] The United
Nations never determined whether these associated states had achieved a
full measure of self-government within the meaning of the United Nations
Charter and General Assembly resolutions. Within a few years after the status
of associated state was created, all six of the former associated states
requested and were granted full independence, except for Anguilla within the
former St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla union, which separated from the associated
state before independence and remains a United Kingdom dependent
territory.

Shortly before the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the autonomous Soviet
republic of Tatarstan declared itself a "sovereign state" and a "subject of
international law". Tatarstan and the recently formed Russian Federation
entered into a treaty in 1994 specifying that Tatarstan was "associated" with
the latter (rather than being an integral part of it). Through the agreement
Tatarstan delegated certain powers (such as some foreign relations and
defense) to Russia. Changes made to Tatarstan's constitution in 2002 have
been seen by some commentators as fundamentally changing this
relationship, with Tatarstan now functioning as essentially an integral part of
Russia.[26][27][28][29][30]

Proposed associated states

Tokelau (a dependent territory of New Zealand) voted on a referendum in
February 2006 to determine whether it wanted to remain a New Zealand
territory or become the third state in free association with New Zealand (after
the Cook Islands and Niue). While a majority of voters chose free association,
the vote did not meet the two-thirds threshold needed for approval. A repeat
referendum in October 2007 under United Nations supervision yielded similar
results, with the proposed free association falling 16 votes short of
approval.[31]

According to statements of officials of Abkhazia and Transnistria (self-

proclaimed partially recognized republics seceded from the former USSR's
constitutive republics of Georgia and Moldova), both intend after recognition
of their independence to become associated states of the Russian
Federation. In Transnistria a referendum took place in September 2006, in
which secession from Moldova and "future free association" with Russia was
approved by a margin of 97%, even though the results of the referendum were
internationally unrecognized.

The government of the United States unincorporated territory of Guam, led by

Governor Eddie Calvo, is currently campaigning for a plebiscite on Guam's
future political status, with free association following the model of the
Marshall Islands, Micronesia, and Palau as one of the possible options.[32][33]

Other comparable relationships

Other situations exist where one state has power over another political unit. A
dependent territory is an example of this, where an area has its own political
system and often internal self-government, but does not have overall
sovereignty. In a loose form of association, some sovereign states cede some
power to other states, often in terms of foreign affairs and defense.

States currently ceding power to another state

 Associated International
Minor partner Associated with Level of association
since status

Responsibility for defending

Andorra rests with Spain
and France.[34] Andorra is a
   Spain and UN member
   Andorra 1278 co-principality between the
   France state
head of state of France
(currently the president) and
the Bishop of Urgell.

   Australia Kiribati has no military.

and National defense is UN member
   Kiribati 1979
   New provided by Australia and state
Zealand New Zealand.[35]

Although the head of state

represents Liechtenstein in
its international relations,
  Switzerland has taken UN member
    Switzerland 1923
 Liechtenstein responsibility for much of state
Liechtenstein's diplomatic
relations. Liechtenstein has
no military defense.[36]

   Monaco    France 1861 France has agreed to UN member

defend the independence state

and sovereignty of Monaco,

while the Monegasque
Government has agreed to
exercise its sovereign rights
in conformity with French
interests, which was
reaffirmed by the Treaty of
Versailles in 1919.[37]

Nauru has no military.

Australia informally takes UN member
   Nauru    Australia 1968
responsibility for its state
defense.[38]

Samoa has no regular

   New military. New Zealand UN member
   Samoa 1914
Zealand provides defense under an state
i f l t [39]
 informal agreement.[39]

Responsibility for defending

UN member
   San Marino    Italy 1939 San Marino rests with
state
Italy.[40]

According to the Lateran

Treaty, anyone who loses
Vatican citizenship and
possesses no other
citizenship automatically
becomes an Italian citizen.
    Switzerland 1506 and The military defense of the UN observer
    Vatican City
   Italy 1929 Vatican City is provided by state
Italy and it uses the
Pontifical Swiss Guard,
founded by Pope Julius II
and provided by
Switzerland, as the Pope's
bodyguards.[41]

States formerly ceding power to another state

Iceland, formerly part of the Kingdom of Denmark, became a nominally

sovereign state in 1918. It remained in personal union with the Danish Crown
and continued to have a common foreign policy with Denmark until 1944,
when it became fully independent.[42]

Bhutan, a former protectorate of British India, agreed in a 1949 treaty to allow

the recently created state of India to guide its foreign relations in a relatively
loose form of association, which resulted in Bhutan sometimes being
described as a "protected state".[43][44] This relationship was updated in a
2007 treaty, in which the provision requiring Bhutan to accept India's guidance
on foreign policy was rescinded.[45]

Microstates as modern protected states

The existence of free relationship based on both delegation of sovereignty

and benign protection can be seen as a defining feature of microstates.
According to the definition of microstates proposed by Dumienski (2014):
"Microstates are modern protected states, i.e. sovereign states that have been
able to unilaterally depute certain attributes of sovereignty to larger powers in
exchange for benign protection of their political and economic viability
against their geographic or demographic constraints."[2] Adopting this
approach permits separating microstates from both small states and
autonomies or dependencies. Microstates understood as modern protected
states include such states as Liechtenstein, San Marino, Monaco, Vatican
City, Andorra, Niue, the Cook Islands, or Palau.

See also

Commonwealth realm

Crown dependency

Dominion

External association, 1921 proposed relationship between Ireland and the

United Kingdom

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