ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we analyse the European Heritage Label as a geopolitical discourse in which perceptions of both European heritage and European scale are formed in relation to other spatial scales. To scrutinize these scalar relations and related hierarchies we combine critical geopolitics and critical heritage studies. Based on the practitioner interviews, we form three interlinked subject positions - EHL participant, EHL observer, and EHL creator – and use these to scrutinize practitioners’ understandings of the EU, Europe, and European heritage. Both the EHL participant and the EHL observer rely on and strengthen the ‘Russian doll’–type scalar order, either by expecting the Label to upgrade the site to a broader European scale, or by emphasizing the importance of a less abstract and more local scale, moving the idea of European heritage closer to the people. Unlike the other two, the position of EHL creator deconstructs hierarchical scalar order and makes explicit the transformative potential of heritage. The positions enable us to gain valuable insights into the current developments in and the future perspectives on the European Heritage Label action.
