Content area
Abstract
This research project is a socio-political analysis of the International Relations within an International Organization, levering the practical case of UNESCO in the context of the establishing World Heritage Lists. It suggests a theorization of the underlying process, by which numerous actors take part in the selection and subsequent publication of World Heritage Lists. In addition to providing individual states with the tools to achieve their national objectives, UNESCO seem to contribute to the establishment of universal values and cosmopolitan identities. The establishment processes of these Lists and their content appear increasingly influenced by the behavior of their actors (i.e., states and individuals). In that context, the role of UNESCO seems ambivalent. It serves both as (a) guarantor for the underlying fundamental values of the institutions and as a place of (b) political economy, in which influences are exchanged between actors that can lead to power struggles and even conflicts. However, this tension doesn’t seem to impact the perceived value of the Lists by most actors and appears to only partially impact the perception of the Organization’s capacity to promote peace-building and closer relationships between peoples.
