ABSTRACT
More cities qualify for inclusion in this regional chapter than for any other. There are three broad historical reasons for this:
Western Europe was the cradle of the modern world-system and has continued to be one of the most important regions (in the ‘core’) of the world economy over several centuries. Therefore its cities have long traditions of ‘outside links’ involving both trading and empire-building. Hence the region and its cities have been at the forefront of the processes creating contemporary globalization, the latest phase of the world-economy development. The result is that 28 of the 74 cities that are treated in this chapter have strong imperial histories.
Throughout the 20th century the number of states in Europe has increased, starting with the breakup of the Austro-Hungarian and German Empires after World Wars I and II, and culminating in a new bout of state-making in the aftermath of the ending of the Cold War. Thus Europe has become a continent of many states each with a capital city. Such cities have special service needs for their government functions as well as very often serving as gateways to their local national economy. The result is that 30 of the 74 cities are capital cities, both old and new.
The economic globalization of the 1990s was stimulated to an important degree by the demise of the Communist states of Eastern Europe and their conversion to neo-liberal economic regimes. This provided new market opportunities for global service firms, as it facilitated the sale of state assets and the creation of new economic institutions. Foreign banks, law firms, accountancy firms and management consultancies rushed to set up offices in the major cities in this new capitalist world to take advantage of the unique circumstances. The result is that 17 of the 74 cities are from former Communist states.
