ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the ways in which state disruption can undermine or destroy the bases for cooperation amongst political actors, and shows why this is an obstacle to the reconstitution of political authority. It identifies a range of measures that can be taken to advance this end, of both a general and a specific kind. The chapter elaborates the term ‘shared sovereignty’, and gives some historical examples of its rudimentary form, taking legal relations within the Commonwealth as a starting point. It explores the ways in which the wider world has engaged with disrupted states, and makes the point that ‘shared sovereignty’ is distinct from colonial occupation, subordination within a sphere of influence, trusteeship under the UN Charter, short-term occupation pursuant to a Security Council enabling resolution with a UN Assistance mission in regional integration through such mechanisms as the European Union. The chapter describes a range of factors which can militate against the adoption of shared sovereignty models.
