Heritage Regimes and the State

What happens when UNESCO heritage conventions are ratifi ed by a state?
How do UNESCO’s global efforts interact with preexisting local, regional
and state efforts to conserve or promote culture? What new institutions emerge
to address the mandate? The contributors to this volume focus on the work of
translation and interpretation that ensues once heritage conventions are ratifi ed
and implemented. With seventeen case studies from Europe, Africa, the Caribbean and China, the volume provides comparative evidence for the divergent
heritage regimes generated in states that differ in history and political organization. The cases illustrate how UNESCO’s aspiration to honor and celebrate
cultural diversity diversifi es itself. The very effort to adopt a global heritage
regime forces myriad adaptations to particular state and interstate modalities of
building and managing heritage.