A Protectorate is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity.
The protectorate retains formal sovereignty and remains a state under international law, but in exchange for this, they usually accept specified obligations that vary depending on the nature of their relationship.
What is the difference between a colony and a protectorate?
A colony has no control over its internal affairs and is a part of the same nation as the colonial power. A protectorate continues to be an independent state, with its external affairs controlled by the protector country, or countries.
What is a protectorate relationship?
A protectorate is the relationship between two countries in which one nation is the” protector” and the other is the” protected.” In a protectorate relationship, the protected state maintains control of their internal affairs and relinquishes control of external affairs.
However, in the case of Gaza, it will need to be carefully nurtured at least in the first decade of its reconstruction and rehabilitation. During that stage the Protectors will select and nurture talented individuals to become local or national leaders.
The United States currently has five inhabited Protectorates. They are Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands in the Caribbean Sea, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands in the North Pacific Ocean, and American Samoa in the South Pacific Ocean.
The United Kingdom calls protectorates UK Overseas Territories (UKOT). According to UKOT, there are a total of 14 UK Overseas Territories (UKOTs) that have retained a constitutional link with the UK. They are inhabited by over 300,000 citizens and cover a combined area seven times that of the UK. While most are self-governing, with their own governments and legislatures, the UKOTs retain a strong relational tie to the UK, which has responsibility for foreign relations, security, defense, and good governance.
France’s protectorates fall under the French Constitution. The Overseas Departments-Regions and the Territorial Communities are Guadeloupe, Guiana, Martinique, La Réunion, Mayotte, Saint-Barthélemy, Saint-Martin, Saint-Pierre- et-Miquelon, the Wallis and Futuna Islands and French Polynesia.
The key to maintaining an independent status as a Protectorate is that the Protectorate is recognized under international law and the specific relationship between the Protectorate and the “Protector” is set out under a treaty signed by both parties.
Protectorates in Recent History.
The Falkland Islands is a British Protectorate. On April 2, 1982, Argentina’s military government invaded the Falklands. This act started the Falkland Islands War which ended ten weeks later with the surrender of the Argentine forces to British troops who had forcibly reoccupied the islands.
As a Protectorate it was the UK’s duty to defend the islands.
In 2013, the citizens of the Falklands voted unanimously to remain a UK Overseas Territory.
Japan became a Protectorate of the United States when it surrendered on September 2, 1945, until the US relinquished its control on April 28, 1952.
The United States took it upon itself to condition deradicalization into the process of reconstructing a former enemy into becoming the modern democratic Japan we know today.
The United States via the Marshall Plan, rebuilt West Germany into becoming the democratic leader of a modern Europe. An essential part was the necessary denazification of Germany.
Deradicalization of the population is a crucial, essential, component of any reconstruction effort in Gaza. It may take a generation to produce a modern educated and functioning society.
As a political and governing system, the concept of Protectorate has worked in the past and is currently working well in the international arena.
The United States should weld a partnership of moderate successful Arab states, UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, along with Israel which has the largest vested interest in a peaceful Gaza, plus Egypt and Jordan to be active members of the Gaza Protectorate to rebuild and guide Gaza to a better future.
One prime condition will be to ensure Gaza is demilitarized, save for a police force. This Gaza will be protected and defended by their Protectorate body, as Britain did to protect the Falkland Islands from an Argentinian attack. (See above) This would, in effect, be a security guarantee to Israel, the victim of persistent attacks from a malevolent Gaza.
President Trump suggested Gaza be the model of a new peaceful Middle East. The ultimate aim will be to have the supporting protectors adopt Gaza and eventually sponsor it to become a new member nation of the United Nations.
Once the new State of Gaza achieves a level of self-governance that satisfies the guidance of the Protectors, it can be introduced into the United Nations as a new member state.
This will not occur for at least a decade or more, allowing time for a new generation of Gazans to prove themselves capable of being productive members of a new independent entity.
Barry Shaw is at the Israel Institute for Strategic Studies.