Decolonization Models for America’s Last Colony

The island of Puerto Rico suffers from a stagnant economy, devastating unemployment, and severely limited political autonomy. In this book, Collado- Schwarz addresses Puerto Rico’s more than a century-old relationship with the United States and presents compelling strategies for gaining independence. Through a series of interviews and newspaper columns, the author examines six countries similar in size to Puerto Rico that have all successfully navigated a course to sovereignty: Singapore, Ireland, Israel, New Zealand, Estonia, and Slovenia. Collado-Schwarz chronicles the political history of each country, the ways in which each achieved independence, and what lessons can be applied to Puerto Rico. With cogent analysis and carefully reasoned arguments, this book will reopen the national dialogue in the United States about the future of Puerto Rico.