On April 8, 2022, LISD hosted a discussion on Art, Diplomacy, and Crime in the context of the ongoing war in Ukraine. Allison Blauvelt, a first-year SPIA MPA student presented her research on the matter as part of a panel with Dr. Wolfgang Danspeckgrueber, LISD’s Founding Director, and Ed Stier, former Federal and New Jersey state prosecutor.
Blauvelt examined the economic, cultural, and political dimensions of cultural property. She presented the range of crimes associated with art, such as looting, forgery, and vandalism, as well as potential opportunities for diplomatic engagement or pressure. The Q and A session focused on the challenges and ethics of cultural property repatriation as well as the importance of cultural engagement in times of hostility. Participants in the discussion identified multiple avenues for future research, including the role of freeports in tax evasion, ethical frameworks to prevent weaponization of art, and the protection of historic sites in the time of great power competition.
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