Introduction : contested territories and empire -- Institutional frameworks and territorial policy -- The changing fortunes of empire -- The hexagon or the empire : France and the Algerian quagmire -- Whitehall tacks to the wind of change -- Ranking with Denmark : the Dutch fear of imperial retreat -- The first maritime empire and the last : Portugal in Africa -- Russia retreats from the union -- The Fourth Republic in Jerusalem -- Conclusion : contesting sovereignty in a global system.