Lecture: Stockholm Institute for Future Studies

Frederik Rosén gave a talk at a seminar at the Stockholm Institute for Future Studies in Stockholm, Sweden, 17. September 2018.

Seminar on Cultural Heritage, Stockholm, 17. September 2018.

The destruction of cultural property in war zones is of pressing concern. The recent and ongoing conflicts in the Middle East have featured both the deliberate, symbolic destruction of cultural artefacts and sites by ISIS, such as the destruction of the Temple of Bel, and the incidental damaging of such sites during combat, such as the damage to the site of Ancient Babylon by the US military. The issues raised by cultural heritage protection are a huge challenge to international law, theories of the ethics of war, and theories of heritage.

Researchers from the AHRC-funded Heritage in War project and the Institute for Futures Studies have organised a seminar identifying some of the most problematic aspects of heritage protection, and considering solutions to these problems. The speakers are drawn from philosophy, archaeology, political science and international law. Topics to be discussed include the protection of heritage as a just cause for war, identity wars, military policy and heritage, the relationship between heritage and violence, and compensatory duties for damaged cultural sites.

This seminar brings together speakers from philosophy, archaeology, political science and international law. Topics to be discussed include the protection of heritage as a just cause for war, identity wars, military policy and heritage, the relationship between heritage and violence, and compensatory duties for damaged cultural sites.

Programme

09.30 – 09.45 Welcome and Introduction

09. 45 – 10.45 Helen Frowe (Philosophy, Stockholm University) ‘Cultural Heritage as a Just Cause for War’

11.00 – 11.15 Coffee

11.15 – 12.15 Frederik Rosén (Nordic Center for Cultural Heritage and Armed Conflict) ‘War and cultural property in the era of identity wars’

12.15 – 13.30 Lunch

13.30 – 14.30 Joakim Kreutz (Political Science, Stockholm University) “Who attacks heritage in war, and what effect does it have on subsequent violence? Findings from global research on attacks on sacred spaces, 1989-2014”

14.40 – 15.40 Martin Hamilton (Centre for International Law and Operational Law, Swedish Defence University) ‘The legal challenges of protecting cultural property in military operations’

15.40 – 16.00 Coffee

16.00 – 17.00 Derek Matravers (Philosophy, Open University) ‘The Duty to Compensate for Injustice as Applied to Reconstruction’