U.S. territories: Their legal foundations and governance models

Abstract

Five current permanently inhabited, “unincorporated” territories of the American Federation (the oldest and the most prominent federation of the world) make up what we know as the “U.S. territories”. They are like Puerto Rico, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands and American Samoa and are similar to one another in many respects. All these localities are the centrally ruled territories like the “Union Territories” in India and “Territories” in Canada and Australia. Most of these are “Insular Possessions” that the United States has acquired from different countries from time to time. In fact, the U.S. territories occupy a unique / exceptional / peculiar position in the American Federal Framework. However, these territories grapple with democratic deficits, lacking full representation in the Congress and political rights enjoyed by the full-fledged States. In such a background, this research paper seeks to study and examine the U.S. territories: their background, legal foundations, governance structures and contemporary challenges.