The topological arrangements of Nijmegen’s ‘Walk of the World’: from a military march to ‘martial entrepreneurialism’

ABSTRACT Since 1916, the Dutch city of Nijmegen annually organizes the Four-Day Marches, the world’s largest international walking event, shaping the city along the way. This paper studies the ‘coeval becoming’ of the March and city through the lens of ‘glocal’ topological arrangements, drawing on a ‘wheeling’ racialized assemblage perspective. This wheeling, we argue, scripts Nijmegen and its March through four topological arrangements: Nijmegen as Host, Nijmegen as Global Node, Nijmegen as Haunted Body, and Nijmegen as Empty Green. In conclusion, we find a strong emphasis on able-bodies and branding, yielding a characterization of ‘martial entrepreneurialism’.