| Using the national pavilions of the Near Eastern nations in the Paris international exposition of 1867 as a case study, this dissertation investigates the role of international diplomacy in defining national architecture of nations. More specifically, it examines the cultural history and thus the national identity formulated for the Near Eastern nations in the Exposition in relation to Napoleon III's policies for the European and North African provinces of the Ottoman Empire.;National pavilions were first presented in the Paris 1867 Exposition. They reflected the concept of genie national, the new field of ethnology, and current architectural theories, as well as the European preoccupation with the "principle of nationalities." Above all, their conception was a manifestation of Napoleon III's ideas on nationalities.;While, for political and financial reasons, the governments of Iran and Morocco did not respond enthusiastically to participation, those of the Ottoman Empire, Egypt, and Tunisia, aware of the importance of European public opinion in their political and financial destiny, seized the unique opportunity offered by the Exposition. The extent of the Near Easterners' involvement in the decision making process, however, was limited. It was primarily European commissioners and architects who represented the national architecture of the Near Eastern nations and defined their cultural identity.;None of these nations appears to have contemplated the question of a national art and architecture before 1867. In some countries, the displays initiated an interest in this concept and influenced their future conception of their "national architecture.";The definitions imposed by the architectural representation corresponded with Napoleon III's political agenda. But they differed from the views of the ruling elite in these nations and did not comport with a number of their political exigencies. In the case of Egypt and the Ottoman Empire, however, the cultural identity constructed by the pavilions foretold the future developments in their cultural politics, suggesting that joining force with other Western sources, the pavilions may have generated an interest in issues not yet a matter of concern among the Near Easterners themselves, and thus played a role in the later discourse on nationalism in these countries. |
