Editing Associated state (section)

{{short description|Minor partner in a formal, free relationship with a typically larger state}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}}
{{Basic Forms of government}}
An '''associated state''' is the minor partner or [[dependent territory]] in a formal, free [[International relations|relationship]] between a [[Polity|political territory]] (some of them dependent [[State (polity)|states]], most of them fully [[Sovereignty|sovereign]]) and a major party—usually a larger state.

The details of such '''free association''' are contained in [[United Nations General Assembly]] [[United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1541 (XV)|Resolution 1541 (XV)]] Principle VI,<ref name="resolution 1541 (XV)">''See'': the [[United Nations General Assembly|General Assembly]] of the [[United Nations]] approved [http://unyearbook.un.org/1960YUN/1960_P1_SEC3_CH4.pdf resolution 1541 (XV)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120121100604/http://unyearbook.un.org/1960YUN/1960_P1_SEC3_CH4.pdf |date=21 January 2012 }} (pages: 509–510) defining free association with an independent State, integration into an independent State, or independence</ref> a [[Compact of Free Association]] or [[West Indies Associated States|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 [[Sovereign state|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 [[Postcolonialism|post-colonial]] form of amical protection, or [[protectorate]], to a [[Asymmetric federalism|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]].