Finding Common Ground: Cultural Property Protection in Modern Conflict

Abstract

Abstract:North Atlantic Treaty Organizations (NATO) Allies and Partner Nations have discovered the common ground where identification, protection, and respect for cultural property is imperative for the success of military missions. Meaningful efforts to protect monuments, collections, heritage sites, sacred structures, and other forms of cultural property must shift to engage with the sphere of performance destruction as a component of hybrid warfare. The challenges of educating military personnel by developing "no strike" lists and requiring cultural resources impact evaluations for overseas military operations are daunting. Now, in addition, preservationists worldwide must contend with the transformation of these treasures into targets for destruction, used as a method for strategic communication of extreme ideology and demonstration of power. The complexity increases when opportunities for international preservation are sacrificed in favor of perceived political or institutional gain. As conflicts unfold in the Middle East and North Africa, where deliberate destruction appears to be exacerbated by criminal acts of looting, heritage at risk may need military protection now more than ever.