The objective of this article is to explore the spatial and temporal dynamics of an important but often neglected space of global governance: the cities in which the headquarters of international organizations (IOs) are located. For this purpose, this article proposes a conceptualization and an empirical application of the concept of ‘ecosystem’. This conceptualization builds on classic sociological ideas and organization theory to develop an innovative understanding of these cities which are more than mere hubs. We use this metaphor to describe an HQ city where one or several IOs have their seats. As a result, it is a space characterized by specific geographical and temporal features that can be qualified as spatial and temporal proximity between the elements composing the ecosystem. Based on original empirical sources, we apply this concept to the so-called International Geneva. We argue that conceptualizing headquarters as ecosystems helps to consider how HQs’ location influences the daily work of IOs.

中文翻译：

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将国际组织总部理解为生态系统：日内瓦案例

本文的目的是探索一个重要但经常被忽视的全球治理空间的时空动态：国际组织总部所在的城市。为此，本文提出了“生态系统”概念的概念化和实证应用。这种概念化建立在经典的社会学思想和组织理论的基础上，以发展对这些不仅仅是枢纽的城市的创新理解。我们用这个比喻来描述一个总部城市，那里有一个或几个 IO 有自己的座位。因此，它是一个以特定地理和时间特征为特征的空间，可以被视为构成生态系统的要素之间的空间和时间接近度。基于原始经验资料，我们把这个概念应用到所谓的国际日内瓦。我们认为，将总部概念化为生态系统有助于考虑总部的位置如何影响 IO 的日常工作。