Abstract
The years before the First World War saw several proposals to establish a "World Capital" in one of Europe's smaller nations. Such proposals were transnational in at least three senses. They aimed to bring all international organizations and movements together; they hinged on international support; and they planned to concentrate all transnational traffic in one centre. At the same time, these grand projects often had nationalist intentions too, trying to advance their home country into a stronger international position. In this article we analyse the relationship between transnational and national dimensions by looking at two elaborate plans: the "World Capital", proposed by the Dutch physician Pieter Eijkman (1862-1914) to be built near The Hague; and the "Cite mondiale" which the Belgian bibliographer and internationalist Paul Otlet (1868-1944) wanted to establish near Brussels. By comparing both projects and their mutual competition, we probe the combination of transnational and national ideology and opportunism.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1389-1409 |
Number of pages | 21 |
Journal | Revue belge de philologie et d'histoire / Belgisch tijdschrift voor filologie en geschiedenis |
Volume | 90 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2012 |
Keywords
- Paul Otlet
- Pieter Eijkman
- Utopia
- internationalism
- world capital