ABSTRACT
Other than in cases of shared sovereignty–such as condominia, or of non-sovereignty–as in global commons, much of the world is carved up in spaces that, unless contested, fall under the purview of single sovereign states. This chapter reviews a number of interesting examples from recent history where such a limitation within the power and authority of a sovereign power applies, typically following the outcome of international arbitration. The first example of single sovereignty but shared jurisdiction: Okinawa, part of Japan, entered such a state of 'political limbo' and was under US administration in the immediate post-war period and only 'handed back' to Tokyo in 1972. Considerable swathes of its land area remain under US effective control as military bases. There are various other examples of islands, and the waters around them, that have offered themselves up as spaces for such political experimentation. Sedudu/Kasikili Island, the Minquiers and Écréhous, Channel Islands, and Åland archipelago, are some of them.
