The Parthenon Marbles Revisited: A New Strategy for Greece?

Nadia Banteka
2012 Social Science Research Network  
Cultural property disputes raise questions of ownership, possession, alleged destruction, and looting. They are also affected by legal vacuums, and idiosyncratic statutes of limitations. Should objects of cultural heritage that have been removed in the past be returned to their source nation? This article discusses the perennial claim Greece made to the British Museum for the return of a collection of sculptures from the Parthenon and the Acropolis of Athens. This article identifies a
more » ... towards a more effective approach on cultural property disputes transcending the traditional ownership versus value debate. It advocates a shift of the discussion from one of legal title and ownership to one of negotiation, cooperation, and advancement of both nationalist and internationalist ideals. This article adds a new spin to an old unresolved debate by advancing two primary arguments: (1) an inalienability argument based on Margaret Radin's theory of personhood; and, in the alternative, (2) a reassessment of the cultural nationalism/internationalism debate, and a negotiation strategy based on prior successful returns of cultural property objects. First, Margaret Radin's theory of personhood gives the country of origin a normative argument against typical commensurate perceptions of
doi:10.2139/ssrn.2188820 fatcat:2xsbt27as5hw5p45nhb4pc2rvu