A tale of two world capitals: the internationalisms of Pieter Eijkman and Paul Otlet

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 “Cité 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

Publication year:2012

BOF-keylabel:yes

IOF-keylabel:yes

Authors:International

Authors from:Higher Education

Accessibility:Open