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Illicit deals in cultural objects as crimes of the powerful

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Abstract

Research with dealers at the market end of the global chain of supply of cultural objects leads to the suggestion that the analytical framework associated with the concept of ‘crimes of the powerful’ can be useful in helping us to understand the role of dealers in driving the market, and in focussing our attention on the difficulties of engaging with the illicit trade through a conventional criminal justice approach. This paper explores the nature of the power that is associated with high-level antiquities dealers, and considers its regulatory implications.

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Notes

  1. The term ‘cultural objects’ is used in this paper to refer to a broad category of items including archaeologically important artefacts as well as objects with a contemporary religious or other cultural value. Other terms sometimes used for this class of objects include ‘cultural property’ and ‘cultural heritage’. More precise definitions of this class of objects, or sections of it, are available in documents such as the UNESCO and UNIDROIT conventions mentioned later in this paper, and specific domestic laws contain their own specifications – for example often only affording protection to’antiquities’ if they qualify as being over 100 years old. The discussion in this paper focuses around the problem of looting in relation to such antiquities; old, archaeologically significant items buried in the ground or attached to a larger heritage structure. However, many of the issues discussed also apply to illicit markets in cultural objects more widely conceived, as indicated by the use of that term where relevant.

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    Simon Mackenzie

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Mackenzie, S. Illicit deals in cultural objects as crimes of the powerful. Crime Law Soc Change 56, 133–153 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10611-011-9317-2

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