Heritage and Legitimacy: Cultural Governance in Modern Iraq

This book offers cultural governance as a theoretical framework for the exploration of 20th-century Iraqi political history, from the foundation of the Imperial Tribal School in Constantinople in 1892 until 1992, the end of the Iraq-Kuwait crisis. Case studies investigate the diversity of cultural governance as an analytical tool for historical heritage management, from the protection of antiquities and guardianship of holy shrines to the use of heritage for corporate legitimacy, the dissemination of conservation expertise throughout the Arab world, and management of heritage in times of conflict. This material explores negotiations of power and sovereignty between local caretakers, officials of the Mandate administration, members of the Iraqi and Arab intelligentsia, UNESCO consultants, and Iraqi state officials, among others, underlining the ideological pluralism of governance efforts throughout the period.

This research offers a historical analysis of cultural projects and programs in Iraq to consider the sociopolitical conditions that shaped their governance. The material included this book is based on previously unpublished archives from the Ottoman Prime Ministry Archives, Middle East and North African Newspapers Collection, and UNESCO Archives, among other repositories. The work addresses a gap in scholarship which has neglected the role of cultural governance in heritage management and development in Iraq. The primary audience is academic scholars, historians, and educational institutions although the book will also be of interest to individuals in Iraq, in the Iraqi diaspora abroad, and those with a general interest in modern Middle East studies.