State representation in Eastern Europe between imperial and national rule

Starting with the first World's Fair in London (1851) and continuing through Paris (1867, 1889, 1900), Vienna (1873), and Chicago (1893) to the World's Fairs of the interwar period in Barcelona (1929) and Paris (1937), this project analyzes how world exhibitions influenced the development and representation of statehood and how political change between imperial and national order affected the forms of representation of statehood. One focus is on the interaction between the expansion of state activities through technological progress and identity politics. World exhibitions as catalysts of this development serve as a point of analysis. Three areas are examined: infrastructure, architecture, and global representation, with a focus on the transfer of knowledge between imperial and national centers and the periphery. Particular attention is paid to the various actors who were responsible for imperial/national representation as heads of state delegations, as well as to architectural schools, their networks, and stylistic developments.