Free Association

A free relationship between a political territory (maybe with some degree of statehood) and a nation. It is a somewhat “middle ground” status where associate states can maintain sovereignty and delegate other responsibilities to the major nation (e.g., financial assistance, defense, currency) under individual compacts. Current “associated states” include Cook Islands and Niue with New Zealand, and Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, and Palau with the U.S.