Borderlines: Forbidden Zones

[Joel Kovarsky]

Frank Jacobs is the London-based author of the recurring NY Times column "Borderlines": http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/author/frank-jacobs/. From what I can see, this column was initiated in late 2011, with the latest entry--Put it in Neutral--dealing with what are termed "Forbidden Zones": http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/01/put-it-in-neutral/?ref=opinion. Mr. Jacobs is likely familiar to several on MapHist as the author of the "Strange Maps" blog and book.

[J. B. Post]

Related to neutral zones are cease-fire lines and the world is full of them, some of longer life than others.

I find the de facto neutral zone which is legally Afghani territory created as a buffer between the British and Russian empires to bed of interest, a case of the sovereignity of a neutral zone ceded to a third party.