False Self-Determination by Design: The "Sham-Federacy" Phenomenon.

In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries states brought into being a new type of neo-colonial regime that can be described as "sham federacy." These are territorial units that have nominally been promised some credible final decision-making powers through constitutional means, but in fact such sovereignty either does not in reality exist (as with the Atlantic Coast [Nicaragua], Chittagong Hill Tracts [Bangladesh], or Tibet [China]) or is not defensible through legal or political means (as with the Palestinian Territories [Israel] or the "Bantustans" [South Africa 1973-93]). Sham federacies are similar to more traditional colonies except they are cloaked in the guise of a partially-sovereign arrangement which does not in fact exist. After introducing the newly apparent governmental form known as "sham federacy" this paper will argue that the colonies that remain in the international system are largely bereft of the exploitation that characterized historic imperialism. Sham federacies are arguably the true successors to the imperial malgovernance of the past rather than modern day colonies, which in many cases have become relatively benign and mutually beneficial arrangements. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]