In international relations, a weak state dominated by or under the jurisdiction of a more powerful state but not formally annexed by it.
Examples include American Samoa (U.S.) and Greenland (Denmark). The dominant state may control certain of its affairs, such as defense, foreign relations, and internal security, and allow it autonomy in domestic affairs such as education, health, and infrastructural development. In the 1960s and '70s the term referred to an approach to understanding third-world development that emphasized the constraints imposed by the global political and economic order.