Security Expert: Destroying Cultural Heritage Has Become a National Security Issue
British researcher and security expert Craig Ross tells LSM that destroying an enemy's cultural heritage is an ancient war strategy that states increasingly treat as a matter of national security rather than just a concern for historians.
Latvian public broadcaster LSM has published an interview with British researcher and security expert Craig Ross, in which he explains why cultural heritage is taking on a growing role in state security policy today.
Ross stresses that threats to cultural heritage are nothing new. Destroying an adversary's cultural valuables, looting them as trophies, and deliberately trying to erase a nation's identity have long been among the oldest strategies of war. Such practices have been present in conflicts from antiquity through to the present day, and are not a recent development, as recent events might suggest.
A shift in understanding
What has changed in recent years, the expert explains, is how states approach the issue. Protecting cultural heritage was traditionally seen mainly as the responsibility of historians, archaeologists and museum professionals. Increasingly, however, more states are treating it as part of their national security framework.
Ross notes that destroying cultural heritage is no longer viewed simply as a material loss. It is now understood as a deliberate attack on a state's and a people's identity — a way for an adversary to undermine a society's sense of belonging and historical memory. According to the expert, this shift in understanding is prompting states to take the protection of cultural heritage increasingly seriously as a security concern.
