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Nation-building projects through new capitals: from St. Petersburg to Yerevan and Astana

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2018

Narek Mkrtchyan
Narek Mkrtchyan*
Affiliation:
1Department of World History, Yerevan State University, Yerevan, Armenia 2College of Humanities and Social Sciences, American University of Armenia, Yerevan, Armenia
*
∗Email: nmkrtchyan@aua.am, narek_mkrtchyan13@alumni.aua.am
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Abstract

The aim of this article is to provide a comprehensive explanation for the reasons behind governments' decisions to relocate and build new capital cities. The process of capital-building is not a mere phenomenon of urbanization; rather it is a process of “text inventing” for nation-building projects. To emphasize implications for identity behind city constructions, the paper will discuss urbanization practices of Soviet Yerevan and post-Soviet Astana. However, to verify the validity and generalizability of the proposed argument, the article will also briefly provide historical analysis of relocation of capitals from Moscow to St. Petersburg, and from Istanbul to Ankara. The reconstruction of the capital of Soviet Armenia, Yerevan, in the 1920s is important in understanding the role of Utopias in initiating identity transformations. The central conceptual premise of the article is Samuel Huntington's theoretical concept of a “torn country” and the redefinition of civilizational identity. One reason capitals have been relocated and new capitals have been built throughout history is a need to initiate a long-term transformation of identity.

Keywords

capital relocationnation-buildingtorn countrycivilizational identityarchitectureUtopia
Type
Articles
Information
Nationalities Papers , Volume 45 , Issue 3 , May 2017 , pp. 485 - 498
Copyright
Copyright © 2017 Association for the Study of Nationalities 

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