Marie-Christine Fourny

Affirmation identitaire et politiques territoriales des villes alpines

Abstract : The « Communaute de travail des villes alpines » (Working Community of Alpine Cities) like other organisations, bears witness to a policy of international agreements which have helped create an alpine identity. An analysis of the treatise of this organisation seeks to reveal the role of such an identity in the actions of towns. The analysis shows the strategic value of a town being « alpine ». It also reveals how the designation « alpine town » is associated with a relatively weak common representation but that it is used as an argument in claims for power which are expressed at several levels. At a more general scale, such an alliance, founded on common roots, also provides a platform on which the elements of an alpine identity can be developed through political ac-