Abstract
AbstractThis article concerns the conceptualization of political spaces in early twentieth-century European political thought. The main figure is the Italian geographer and political thinker Cesare Battisti (1875–1916). Drawing on his geographical knowledge of his native region of Trentino, then in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Battisti envisioned an alternative political order in Central Europe. In a series of geographical surveys and political essays, he described his idea of the region as a meaningful political space, that could become an alternative to both empire and nation-state as part of a continental democratic federation. The article argues that through this new spatial conceptualization of region and federation, Battisti sought to reinterpret the political categories of authority and community. The article examines Battisti's ideas in their historical and intellectual context, arguing that he offers original insights on the evolution of European international and regional thought in the twentieth century.
Highlights
E dislodged the state from its central position in the history of political thought and invited scholars to explore alternative spatial imaginaries of political order, such as empires, continents, and the whole globe.[2]
The article concerns the conceptualization of political spaces in early twentieth century European political thought
Benton invites historians to focus on the “uneasy fit between political-spatial formations and the spatial distribution of authority” and to discuss “the tension between spatial representations of political community and ideas about the spatial distribution of authority.”
Summary
This is the accepted version of the paper. This version of the publication may differ from the final published version. Copyright: City Research Online aims to make research outputs of City, University of London available to a wider audience. URLs from City Research Online may be freely distributed and linked to. Reuse: Copies of full items can be used for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge. Title and full bibliographic details are credited, a hyperlink and/or URL is given for the original metadata page and the content is not changed in any way. The spatiality of politics: Cesare Battisti’s regional and international thought, 1900-1916
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