Memory and Heritage as Geopolitical Actors and Markers

Heritage, history and geopolitics? — a question of great interest when it comes to understanding what is going on in the world today. How do states or communities use memory as an instrument of cultural influence? How is history instrumentalised for geopolitical ends? This book addresses these questions using case studies that take us to the heart of the heritage ecosystem, from the Statue of Liberty to the destruction of statues of Lenin in Ukraine. At a time when heritage has become a global phenomenon, it's time to question its uses and political misuses.

Robert Belot, a graduate of the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (Paris) and the Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris, is a professor of contemporary history at Jean Monnet University (Saint-Etienne, France). Once the holder of a Jean Monnet European Chair (2013–2018), he is now the holder of the Jean Monnet European module ‘HISTEUROPA’ and director of the Erasmus mundus DYCLAM+ European Master's programme (2018–2024), which focuses on the geopolitical challenges of cultural heritage.