‘They all know which way the wind is blowing, which way the money is flowing’: museum actors’ perspectives on involvement in protection of cultural heritage in armed conflict

Abstract

ABSTRACT The conditions for working with the protection and preservation of cultural heritage has changed massively due to cultural heritage being used as a political, ideological and strategic symbol of identity in armed conflicts. This has established a politically platform with agreement on the need for protection of cultural heritage during conflict. Yet institutionalized strategies for who is going to implement this protection lag behind. This has caused museum actors to act outside their traditional institutional field of work. Based on interviews, this article traces the influence and connection behind the museum sector’s movement into heritage protection and the interaction between the actors involved. The article shows how actors’ involvement is influenced by a lack of material resources, lack of policies, publicity, political trends, diplomacy, personal relationships, personal engagement and concern, career opportunities, and the sense of a lack of action by officials rather than policy and organisational functions.