Heritage and Identity

Cultural heritage is continually under threat from human conflict, natural disaster or theft. The books published in this new series will contribute to the global dialogue about (a) the social value of cultural heritage as collective memory and identity, (b) how we can effectively protect cultural property in contexts of human conflict, natural disaster, or theft and looting, (c) ethical and legal consequences for institutions such as museums and universities as well as collectors and dealers when confronted with rare antiquities of unknown or with—in hindsight—politically incorrect provenance, (d) how the past is or was represented in history and the present, depending on geographical and political location and how cultural heritage is or should be protected and conserved for the future. The series will have a multidisciplinary perspective which will include aspects of international law, cultural diplomacy, the role of military forces, other stakeholders such as NGOs and IOs, exploitation of cultural resources, connections with environmental aspects, discussions on “repatriation” of artefacts, national laws on ownership, illicit traffic of cultural property and the different aspects of intangible cultural property. The series will be very timely not only because of on-going armed conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan, but also due to the recent episodes of civil unrest in the Middle East (e.g., Egypt, Libya, etc.) as well as natural disasters (e.g., Haiti, Japan). All of these varied contingencies have put cultural properties at risk and all of them merit careful analysis and scrutiny.