ABSTRACT
The ethical, political, legal, and operational foundations of the evolving Responsibility to Protect (R2P) norm provide a policy wedge for the specific task of protecting cultural heritage by an international peace force, an idea that has been summarily dismissed for three-quarters of a century. The politics that lead to contestation about when and where to intervene in specific crises to protect people do not characterise the destruction of cultural heritage. Rogue attackers—such non-state thugs as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS or by its Arabic acronym Da’esh), pariah states such as the Taliban’s Afghanistan and major powers such as China—are immediate targets for widespread if not quite universal external opprobrium. This chapter begins by discussing the salience of the present moment before the relevance of the R2P for the protection of cultural heritage. It continues with the value of inserting politics into what has been largely a legal conversation for over a century. The conclusion explores the possible “force multiplier” resulting from the use of heritage protection as a routine part of the peaceful resolution of disputes and of the mandates for outside military forces, more particularly of an independent peace force.
