Lynn Meskell's A Future in Ruins begins with a paradox: Why is it that UNESCO's globally renowned World Heritage List includes so many important archaeological sites and yet UNESCO has seemingly had little impact on the discipline of archaeology itself? Through exhaustive archival research and ethnography—and even some autoethnography—Meskell reveals that although the discipline of archaeology was originally fundamental to the utopian “One World” vision of UNESCO, UNESCO's post-World War II dream was fundamentally altered by the escalating political maneuverings of its member states. She argues that the abandonment of archaeology's central role in UNESCO's culture sector in favor of a “monumental” approach to heritage has had dire consequences for archaeological sites and their local communities around the world.
Beginning with Chapter 1, “Utopia,” and ending with Chapter 8, “Dystopia,” the reader can expect a descent from the headiness of postwar internationalism to today's fractured reality of continued conflict and inequality. Yet, Meskell's analysis simultaneously interweaves elements of “hope and cynicism.” As such, the book offers constructive suggestions that may encourage heritage professionals and archaeologists to fashion new modes of collaboration.
What makes A Future in Ruins distinct from earlier studies of UNESCO World Heritage is its singular focus on archaeology. Chapter 1 describes its formative role under UNESCO's first director-general, Julian Huxley, whose modernist vision for archaeology harked back to the League of Nations’ International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation.
Chapters 1, 2, and 3 document scientific archaeology's rise and fall within UNESCO, and they chart the ascendency of tourism-based “monumental” heritage. Meskell's archival research shines as she tracks Huxley's downfall as UNESCO director and describes the infighting that broke out among archaeologists of various nations during the International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia beginning in 1960. Yet, her recounting of the results of the multinational archaeological research—over 700 publications and the documentation of thousands of sites—hints at the scientific impact that UNESCO-backed archaeological projects could have had.
As the book proceeds, Meskell details how UNESCO has effectively used technocracy to shield it from political rivalries among its member states. Meskell argues that “national prestige, economic revenues, and the international bargaining potential that World Heritage bestows now eclipse the conservation of historic sites” (p. 93). Chapters 4 through 8 draw on interviews, observation at World Heritage Committee (WHC) meetings, and archival evidence to detail how competition for the World Heritage “brand” has intensified as it becomes a stage for soft power plays between member states. Readers who enjoy tales of political intrigue will find rich material in the book's second half—rumors of bribes, anonymous tip-offs, and secret deals on the WHC meeting floor.
In Chapter 5, we return to archaeology for a brief interlude: an autoethnography of the World Heritage (WH) inscription process at Çatalhöyük, an archaeological site at which Meskell has worked since 2004. There, she observed the host member state using the WH process as political theater, paying lip service to community participation to gain inscription but jettisoning it post-inscription—by terminating public outreach efforts, once a cornerstone of the project.
Chapters 6, 7, and 8 detail the entanglement of the WHC in the bitter conflicts involving Jerusalem to the more subtle symbolic violence of the inscription of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution sites. Meskell reminds us how deeply the World Heritage process is embroiled in contemporary conflict even as it rhetorically promotes tolerance and intercultural understanding. This is obvious at WH sites such as Dubrovnik's Old Town, Mostar Bridge, Bamiyan, and Timbuktu—all of which have become alluring targets for wartime destruction. Yet, when UNESCO occasionally lifts its image of “objective” technical expertise to condemn politicization, it risks losing political and financial support from some of its most powerful members, as evinced by the 2018 withdrawal from the organization by the United States because of a perceived anti-Israel bias.
Archaeologists, heritage professionals, legal scholars, and political scientists will find much of interest in Meskell's accessible study, her astute observations, and the signposts she presents for a path forward. What mechanisms could be used for holding nations accountable for the destruction and mismanagement of sites? How can cultural pluralism and the ideological promise of a multination, multidisciplinary archaeology reenter the frame? Indeed, one wonders whether UNESCO's abandonment of archaeology ironically enabled postprocessual theory and community engagement practices to grow in other contexts. Nevertheless, the central message of A Future in Ruins is sobering, suggesting that the current incarnation of World Heritage is not sustainable for UNESCO itself, for the cause of conservation, nor for the prospect that UNESCO recognition of archaeological sites can contribute to a more peaceful world.
