Associated state
An associated state is the minor partner or dependent territory in a formal, free relationship between a political entity and a major party—usually a larger state.
The details of such free association are contained in United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1541 Principle VI, 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 a confederation of unequal members when the lesser partners delegate to the major one some authority normally exclusively retained by a sovereign state, usually in such fields as defence and foreign relations, while often enjoying favourable economic terms such as market access.
Origin of the concept
The concept of associated state was originally used to refer to arrangements under which Western powers afforded a 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, but for the most part reserved for France effective control over foreign relations, as well as military, judicial, administrative, and economic activities. 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. 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. All of the aforementioned associated states eventually became fully independent states.Puerto Rico has been a dependent territory of the United States since the Spanish–American War. In the Spanish-language version of its current constitution it is officially named Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, which translates to "Free Associated State of Puerto Rico." It exercises substantial internal self-government similar to U.S. states, and is under the sovereignty of the U.S. Constitution. Unlike the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, and Palau, Puerto Rico is not considered to be an associated state under U.S. domestic law, with the English-language Puerto Rican constitution referring to it as a 'commonwealth.' The official Spanish name of Puerto Rico can lead observers to believe that its political status is equivalent to that of the associated states of the Cook Islands, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Niue, and Palau. However, unlike these polities, Puerto Rico is not considered a state under international law and scholars usually do not regard it as an associated state similar to the others.
When New Zealand offered an associated status to the Cook Islands, they involved the United Nations and included in the agreement the possibility of future independence. These considerations became relevant in later Special Committee on Decolonisation debates on the West Indies Associated States.
States currently in a formal association
The Cook Islands and Niue have the status of "self-government in free association". New Zealand cannot legislate for them, and in some situations they are considered sovereign states. In foreign relations, both interact as sovereign states, and they have been allowed to sign on as a state to United Nations treaties and bodies. Neither has decided to join the UN, as New Zealand has expressed a view that such a move would lead to their loss of right to automatic acquisition of New Zealand citizenship. In 2025, Cook Islands prime minister Mark Brown stated that the UN confirmed that the Cook Islands did not meet the requirements for UN membership, and foreign minister Tingika Elikana stated that any future decision to join the UN would require a referendum and reevaluation of the relationship with New Zealand. Additionally, a spokesperson for the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade stated that "the Cook Islands is not a fully independent and sovereign state". Both Niue and the Cook Islands have established their own immigration regimes.The Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Palau 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 provides funding 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 state | Associated with | Associated since | Level of association | International status |
| Cook Islands | New Zealand | 4 August 1965 | New Zealand acts on behalf of the Cook Islands and Niue in foreign affairs and defence issues, but only when requested so by their respective local governments and with their advice and consent. | Not a UN member state. Independence in foreign relations recognised by the UN |
| Niue | New Zealand | 19 October 1974 | New Zealand acts on behalf of the Cook Islands and Niue in foreign affairs and defence issues, but only when requested so by their respective local governments and with their advice and consent. | Not a UN member state. Independence in foreign relations recognised by the UN |
| Marshall Islands | United States | 21 October 1986 | The United States provides defence, funding grants, and access to U.S. social services for citizens of these areas under the Compact of Free Association. | UN member state |
| Federated States of Micronesia | United States | 3 November 1986 | The United States provides defence, funding grants, and access to U.S. social services for citizens of these areas under the Compact of Free Association. | UN member state |
| Palau | United States | 1 October 1994 | The United States provides defence, funding grants, and access to U.S. social services for citizens of these areas under the Compact of Free Association. | UN member state |
Former associated states
A formal association existed under the West Indies Act 1967 between the United Kingdom and the six West Indies Associated States. These were former British colonies in the Caribbean: Antigua, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent. Under this arrangement, each state had internal self-government, but the UK retained responsibility for foreign relations and defence. 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 became a British dependent territory on its own.Shortly before the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Tatar ASSR unilaterally seceded from the Russian SFSR, as the "sovereign state" of Tatarstan and a "subject of international law". In 1994 Tatarstan and the Russian Federation entered into a treaty specifying that Tatarstan was "associated" with the latter. Through the agreement, Tatarstan delegated certain powers 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.