Published
Jun 27, 2023Page count
150 pagesISBN
978-1529216325Dimensions
234 x 156 mmImprint
Bristol University PressPublished
Jun 27, 2023Page count
150 pagesISBN
978-1529216332Imprint
Bristol University PressPublished
Jun 27, 2023Page count
150 pagesISBN
978-1529216332Imprint
Bristol University Press
Cities in Search of Freedom
Over the past decades the nation state lost its political primacy by processes of devolution, Europeanisation and globalisation, which in turn enhanced municipal autonomy. Why do some cities seek to sidestep the state and widen their sphere of action?
Bridging political geography, local politics and urban sociology, this book gives a new perspective on the state’s weakening authority and the parallel rise of cities as political actors. The author considers the tensions between central states and European cities, giving a new perspective to students and researchers in the social sciences.
“A timely synthesis offering an introduction to debates surrounding the role of municipalities in the 21st century and of interest to students studying cities from political, geographical or sociological perspectives.” John Griffiths, Massey University
Elisabetta Mocca is Marie Jahoda Fellow at the University of Vienna.
1. Introduction
2. The Ebbs and Flows of Cities as Political Actors
3. The Persistence of Urban Identity in the Global World
4. Fleeing the State
5. The Municipalisation of the European Political Space
6. Civitas Activa: The Mobilising Potential of Cities
7. A Municipal Way Out?
