SOFA restrictions shrink as US power relative to host nations grows.

Evidence

The situation is only made worse by status of forces agreements (SOFAs) that often allow U.S. troops to escape prosecution by host nations for the crimes they commit. Little known in the United States, SOFAs govern the presence of U.S. troops in most countries abroad, covering everything from taxation to driving permits to what happens if a GI breaks the host country’s laws. Each SOFA is different. Base expert Joseph Gerson once told me the length of a SOFA usually bears an inverse relationship to the power differential between the United States and the host country: the greater the power of the United States relative to the host, the shorter the SOFA, placing fewer restrictions on the military and its personnel. — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 861

Each SOFA is different. Base expert Joseph Gerson once told me the length of a SOFA usually bears an inverse relationship to the power differential between the United States and the host country: the greater the power of the United States relative to the host, the shorter the SOFA, placing fewer restrictions on the military and its personnel. — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 861

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines what a SOFA covers and its terms — essential context for the whole Okinawa dispute.
• XREF: Institutional power asymmetry echoes the Milgrom law-merchant material on how power differentials shape extralegal private governance.
• QUESTION: A testable claim worth checking against a comparison of specific SOFA texts across host nations.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 861