An associated state is a state that is the minor partner in a formal free relationship with a major party — a larger state — that allows the former to share aspects of governance, such as defense, foreign policy, and economy, with the latter. Five states are in a formal relation of free association: the Cook Islands and Niue are in free association with New Zealand, whereas the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Palau are in free association with the United States.
The details of such “free association” are contained in United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1541 (XV) Principle VI,See: the General Assembly of the United Nations approved resolution 1541 (XV) (pages: 509–510) defining free association with an independent State, integration into an independent State, or independence 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, the term can be used more loosely: 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 (often the former colonial power) 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 (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. The creation of the three associated states of Indochina was realized in 1949. 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 (1952) constitution it is officially named , 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".Cook Islands: Constitutional Status and International Personality, New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, May 2005 New Zealand cannot legislate for them,Cook Islands Constitution "Except as provided by Act of the Parliament of the Cook Islands, no Act, and no provision of any Act, of the Parliament of New Zealand passed after the commencement of this Article shall extend or be deemed to extend to the Cook Islands as part of the law of the Cook Islands."Niue Abstracts Part 1 A (General Information); page 18 "The New Zealand Parliament has no power to make laws in respect of Niue on any matter, except with the express request and consent of the Niue Government." and in some situations they are considered sovereign states.See Court various statements, page 262–264 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.Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs Supplement No. 8; page 10 Cook Islands since 1992, and Niue since 1994.UN Office of Legal Affairs Page 23, number 86 "...the question of the status, as a State, of the Cook Islands, had been duly decided in the affirmative..." 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.Pacific Constitutions Overview, p.7 – Niue Entry, Residence and Departure Act 1985.
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 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 withAssociated sinceLevel of associationInternational status Cook IslandsNew Zealand 4 August 1965New 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 19 October 1974 Marshall IslandsUnited 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 3 November 1986 Palau 1 October 1994
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 (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 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 (rather than being an integral part of it). Through the agreement, Tatarstan delegated certain powers (such as some foreign relations and defence) 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.
Proposed associated states Puerto Rico
While Puerto Rico is described as a 'free associated state' under its Spanish-language constitution, its status is not equivalent to that of a separate state under international law, since it legally remains a U.S. territory. Some scholars and politicians have proposed Puerto Rico sign a Compact of Free Association with the U.S. The soberanista movement advocates for the territory to be granted a freely associated status. The 2017 status referendum presented "Independence/Free Association" as an option; if the majority of voters had chosen it, a second round of voting would have been held to choose between free association and full independence. In 2022, the US Congress introduced the Puerto Rico Status Act, which would hold a federally-sponsored referendum on the territory's status, with a free association status expected to be presented as an option similar to those in force in the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, and Palau. Guam The government of the U.S. unincorporated territory of Guam, led by Governor Eddie Calvo, started campaigning in early 2011 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. The plebiscite, however, only allowed "native inhabitants" as defined under Guam law to register for it. A white, non-Chamorro resident, Arnold Davis, filed a federal lawsuit in 2011 for being denied registration for the plebiscite and a July 2019 ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ultimately blocked the plebiscite on the basis that the law was race-based and violated constitutionally protected voting rights; the Supreme Court of the United States declined to hear the Government of Guam's appeal in May 2020.
Faroe Islands