[count]

Sure it is. They own the root, they can return an RR marked as authoritative for any domain in the system.

[wmf]

Would that work in the face of caching? If my resolver already has .se cached, for example, it wouldn't consult the root at all when looking up thepiratebay.se, right?

[count]

No domain seizure works in the face of caching. Eventually your cache will time out, and then it hits.