The latest emergence of the idea of territorial exchange as a potential premise for an ultimate agreement between the two states is receiving an ever so much potency in the international arena. High end representatives of the European Union and United States of America have failed to produce a clear-cut position either in support or against it. Reluctance to do so indicates that the international community is willing to consider any agreement, including unorthodox border revision ideas in an easily stirred up region. Ethnically based territorial exchange between two political adverse countries as a mean to a consensual agreement that would possibly grant Kosovo recognition from Serbia, its predecessor state, presents an unprecedented case in the modern history of the international relations. Be that as it may, it poses a dangerous test to the limits of international law, international order and it undermines the statehood of Kosovo in the first place. As such, it may set way for uncharted implications the outcome of which may be beyond control for a currently divided Europe Union and unconventional leadership in the United States of America.  With that in mind, this paper looks at cases of contested states from 1945 and onward that have eventually reached international recognition despite initial refusal from their predecessor states and the international community. Case studies include Bangladesh, Eritrea, and East Timor.