Self-determination challenged the empires endorsing it

The promise to seek no territorial gains was easy for the world's largest empire and a country occupying much of a continent to accept. Requiring border changes to match the wishes of the people concerned posed a harder question. The wording referred to all affected peoples, so the interpretation here extends the requirement beyond Allied populations. Postwar redrawing of borders would therefore need to take account of those populations' consent. Self-determination also created a tension for Britain because its ability to continue the war depended on its empire.