Kees Terlouw

The growing support for populist politicians frustrates many. I am fascinated by both. Their mutual recriminations shouted at each other without listening to each other annoys me however. As a distant academic I wrote this book to get away from the current headlines. In this book I delve deeper into the historical background, spatial roots and theoretical interpretation of these differences. My book is based on an ideal typical typology of the opposite characteristics of the relational and territorial perspectives. I do not use this to pigeonhole different opinions, but to analyse how different aspects linked to both perspectives are used to legitimise or de-legitimise specific policies and political conflicts. I apply this more general and widely applicable framework to the governance of cities and regions. I compare how the legitimation of governance changes in Dutch region around Amsterdam and the German Ruhr region over the last 500 years.