The Power of Heritage Norms
Bridging Critical Heritage Theory and Norm Circle Theory
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 24020105 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Joar Skrede (0000-0002-4521-5940, Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research, corresponding author), Alexis Thouki (0009-0004-0610-9290, University of Sheffield) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 56 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Publication date | 2026-08-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0021-8308 • E-ISSN: 1468-5914 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/jtsb.70054 |
| OpenAlex | W7172090090 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 57 |
This article brings Norm Circle Theory (NCT) into dialogue with Critical Heritage Theory (CHT) to examine normative authority in the heritage field. Although strands of CHT that draw on discourse analysis and assemblage approaches illuminate the ideological formations shaping heritage and the relationships between humans, cultural objects and nature, they often operate with a relatively “flat” ontology that tends to leave the causal powers and ontological depth of these components undertheorized. Drawing on depth ontology and a realist theory of emergence, NCT grounds normativity in real social entities whose enduring properties and relations generate emergent causal powers. In light of CHT's ongoing concern with power and hegemony in heritage governance, NCT offers a stronger explanatory account of how norms are produced, contested and stabilised over time. Drawing on qualitative secondary analysis of two cases—debates over the conservation of medieval painted churches in Cyprus and over the demolition of the governmental Y‐block in Oslo, the paper shows that heritage controversies are structured interactions among overlapping norm circles, each mobilising distinct discourses and institutional resources. The paper concludes by reflecting on how NCT can complement existing approaches in heritage studies, including Critical Discourse Analysis and people‐centred approaches and ultimately offers a framework that more effectively explains authority and power in heritage governance.
Bridging (networking) · Critical theory · Cultural heritage · Hegemony · Ideology · Norm (philosophy) · Normative · Ontology · Power (physics) · Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation · Memory, Trauma, and Commemoration · Urban Planning and Governance
Heritage and Globalisation
Emotional Heritage
Uses of Heritage
Peripheral Vision
Exploring People-Centred Approaches in the Intersections of Planning History and Heritage Management
Moving Beyond a Values-Based Approach to Heritage Conservation
The Causal Power of Social Structures
The Reality of Social Construction
Structure, Agency and the Internal Conversation
Beyond “Natural” and “Cultural” Heritage
Power, persuasion and preservation
How authenticity is negotiated and experienced by clergy and tourists at religious World Heritage sites
Expertise and the making of World Heritage policy
Norm Circles and Critical Realism
Heritage, the power of the past, and the politics of (mis)recognition
Beyond classification
Developing Social Theory Using Critical Realism
What is Progress in Realism? An Issue Illustrated Using Norm Circles
Disassembling Actor-network Theory
Materially social’ critical realism
What’s wrong with heritage experts? An interdisciplinary discussion of experts and expertise in heritage studies
Clarifying the critical in critical heritage studies
Wrestling with the Social Value of Heritage
The Utility of Discourse Analysis to Heritage Studies
Is This Stone Alive? Prefiguring the Future Role of Archaeology
Re-framing authorised heritage discourse (AHD) within a realist explanatory framework
Action heritage
Social Landscape Characterisation
Critical heritage and the posthumanities
What's in a word? Reflections on, challenges to, and possibilities with the ACHS
Critical heritage studies and the legacies of the late-twentieth century heritage canon
Engaging with the future of 'critical heritage studies
Dissecting authorised participation in cultural heritage
Critical heritage studies beyond epistemic popularism
Between Memory and History
Cultural Networks and Unesco
Conservation Philosophy and its Development
Uses of Heritageand beyond
Cultural System or norm circles? An exchange
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |