Below are the core components or "features" that define this status:

: The associated state maintains full control over its internal constitution and domestic affairs. It determines its own legal and political systems without outside interference.

: A key feature of "free association" is that the relationship is not permanent; the associated state usually retains the right to terminate the association and move toward full independence or another status.

In political science and international law, an is a sovereign or semi-sovereign territory that has a formal, free, and voluntary relationship with a larger "principal" state.