The Ends of Empire

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xv

   PDF

2. A Decolonised World?

   • John Connell, Robert Aldrich

   Pages 1-34

3. Constitutions: The Constancy of Change

   • John Connell, Robert Aldrich

   Pages 35-110

4. Identity, Culture and Politics

   • John Connell, Robert Aldrich

   Pages 111-193

5. New Caledonia: The Infinite Pause?

   • John Connell, Robert Aldrich

   Pages 195-225

6. Economics: Niche Markets and Global Contexts

   • John Connell, Robert Aldrich

   Pages 227-290

7. Migration: Holding on to Home?

   • John Connell, Robert Aldrich

   Pages 291-320

8. Geopolitics: The Local and the Global

   • John Connell, Robert Aldrich

   Pages 321-370

9. Anomalies on the Map

   • John Connell, Robert Aldrich

   Pages 371-415

10. Plus ça change? From Last Colonies to Overseas Territories

    • John Connell, Robert Aldrich

    Pages 417-449

11. Back Matter

    Pages 451-524

    PDF

This book offers a fresh analysis of constitutional, economic, demographic and cultural developments in the overseas territories of Britain, France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Spain, the United States, Australia and New Zealand. Ranging from Greenland to Gibraltar, the Falklands to the Faroes, and encompassing islands in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, and the Caribbean, these territories command attention because of their unique status, and for the ways that they occasionally become flashpoints for rival international claims, dubious financial activities, illegal migration and clashes between metropolitan and local mores. Connell and Aldrich argue that a negotiated dependency brings greater benefits to these territories than might independence.

• decolonisation
• sovereignty
• postcolonialism
• nationalism
• cultural identities
• refugees
• climate change
• money laundering
• corruption
• nation-states
• Geopolitical Rivalries
• Russian Expansionism
• New Colonialism

“The Ends of Empire makes a convincing case that we need a sharper lens through which to view the problems confronting overseas territories than a binary focus ‘for or against’ independence. This makes the book’s discussion of the many intermediate points between full integration and outright independence so important – and so rewarding a read.” (Professor Martin Thomas, University of Exeter)
“This book is the most complete and up-to-date study of non-sovereign territories that I have read, and being so extremely rich in detail and references, offers a significant foundation for future studies.” (Dr Wouter Veenendaal, University of Leiden)


“This substantial study updates and expands the same authors’ 1998 book, The Last Colonies. It deals with what are now known as overseas territories, not one of which has progressed to independence in the years following the first book. This book is comprehensive and learned yet written in an accessible style, appealing to students of contemporary politics and international relations as well as those involved in the burgeoning field of island studies.” (Professor Stephen A. Royle, Queen’s University Belfast)

• School of Geosciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

  John Connell

• Department of History, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

  Robert Aldrich

John Connell is Professor of Human Geography at the University of Sydney. He has published widely on development and migration in the Pacific region.


Robert Aldrich is Professor of European History at the University of Sydney. His recent books include Banished Potentates: Dethroning and exiling indigenous monarchs under British and French colonial rule, 1815-1955.

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