Symbols in political centres. Where they are and what they mean

The paper starts from the concept of political centre formation as a necessary and continuing process in the emergence and maintenance of larger differentiated societies. Accommodations of public authorities spatially concentrate within cities, mostly called capitals. The paper is about the ways in which the built environment in which public authorities operate, supports them symbolically. Introductory sections about the use of symbols, signs and icons in this context are followed by sections that take the political centres in the European state system as a relevant example and indicate ways to study this question in a comparative fashion.L'article part du concept de formation d'un centre politique comme d'un processus nécessaire et ininterrompu dans l'émergence et le maintien de grandes sociétés différenciées. Les implantations des autorités publiques sont concentrées dans les villes, principalement des capitales. L'article examine les façons dont l'environnement bâti dans lequel ces autorités opèrent les soutient symboliquement. Les premières parties sont consacrées à l'usage de symboles, signes et icônes dans ce contexte tandis que les suivantes prennent les centres politiques dans le système étatique européen comme un exemple pertinent et indiquent des pistes pour étudier cette question de manière comparative

'LEGAL CAPITAL OF THE WORLD': POLITICAL CENTRE-FORMATION IN THE HAGUE

The Hague, government centre of the Netherlands, has for a long time played a role as a centre in international judicial affairs. This was initially not the consequence of a deliberate foreign policy, but the outcome of a number of contingencies. There is now a political ambition to under-line the city's international profile. I briefly describe the history of the acquisition, maintenance and care of the international organisations established in The Hague, the contingencies and functional connections that account for this development and the actors involved in this process of international political centre-formation. Significant actors have been the national government of the Netherlands and other state parties, local government of The Hague, and international lobby groups. Copyright (c) 2006 by the Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG.

Public authority in European capitals: a map of governance, an album with symbols

This paper deals with the residences of public authority across Europe from the emergence of the state system to the present. It is concerned with the addresses, the buildings, their surroundings and the symbolic significance from the point of view of builders and the public. The building styles have been heavily influenced by the examples of imperial and papal Rome, and a dominant model of a European capital city building has evolved. There are also some systematic differences, particularly for those countries with a dramatic history of constitutional change and for those with a decentralized process of state-building in the early stages of the process. In the second half of the 19th century, and probably again currently, the residences of public authority should be read in conjunction with the positioning of a series of civic institutions. The display of state authority has been increasingly accompanied by the representation of national identity. More recently, however, a touch of cosmopolitanism has been added in many capitals. The reading of these capitals is therefore now more ambiguous. This will probably intensify under the impact of the emerging European multilevel governance system. At the same time, this governance system has become increasingly based in Brussels. For this city to symbolically represent Europe is a very difficult ambition in the context of its multiple capital roles. However, Brussels has a long history of dealing successfully with such urban challenges in spite of major conflicts and drawbacks.