Political and constitutional issues for the contemporary Falkland Islands

Abstract

ABSTRACT Understandably much of the academic literature on the Falkland Islands relates to its relationship with Argentina and the allied territorial dispute, but that can ignore broader and equally important aspects of the Falklands’ political and constitutional lives, which are the feature of this article. The overarching aim is to consider the multi-layered approach to political and constitutional matters, and how they have evolved since the Falklands War in 1982. In particular, the paper considers the Falklands’ constitutional ties with the United Kingdom (UK) as a British Overseas Territory, the overall political relationship between the Falklands and the UK at present, and the internal democratic and political arrangements of the Falklands. The paper argues that although the Falkland Islands' political and constitutional position is strong, there are aspects that need to be reconsidered and reformed.