Cultural heritage in security discourse
Mapping the securitization process
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12201331 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Dilek Elvan Çokişler (0000-0001-6958-6298, Aydin Adnan Menderes University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 32 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 273-292 |
| Publication date | 2025-08-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Journal of Cultural Property (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0940-7391 • E-ISSN: 1465-7317 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0940739125100155 |
| OpenAlex | W4416271553 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 17 |
This article maps how cultural heritage has been securitized in international discourse by analyzing seven key United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and UN Security Council (UNSC) documents (2003–2017). Drawing on the Copenhagen School’s framework and its distinction between identification and mobilization, the study reveals a two-stage process. Initially, heritage destruction was framed as a human rights violation, later escalating into a global security threat linked to terrorism and conflict financing. Through a sectoral and scalar typology of referent objects, the analysis highlights divergent framings by UNESCO (societal, normative) and the UNSC (military, strategic). Despite strong discursive alignment—culminating in UNSC Resolution 2347—the mobilization of extraordinary measures remained limited. The article concludes that heritage securitization is discursively robust but operationally incomplete, shaped by institutional capacities, leadership shifts, and evolving geopolitical contexts. These findings contribute to the broader literature on security politics, norm diffusion, and the symbolic power of heritage in global governance
Cultural heritage · Geopolitics · International security · Norm (philosophy · Referent · Securitization · Terrorism · Typology · Archaeological Research and Protection · Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation · Global Security and Public Health
Securitization between Narrative and Practice
Climate Change and Cultural Security in the Postcolony
Expanding the peacekeeping agenda. The protection of cultural heritage in war-torn societies
The securitisation of cultural heritage
Actor, Audience(s) and Emergency Measures
They all know which way the wind is blowing, which way the money is flowing
Securitization and the Construction of Security
History meets the 'mafia state'? Hungary and the (de)securitisation of built cultural heritage in Slovakia
Mnemonic security and post-Soviet aphasia
The cross-sectoral linkage between cultural heritage and security
Heritage Conflict and the Council
The dark side of cultural heritage protection
Cultural Security
Gender and cultural violence
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |