The Name of the Orchid: Expertise and the Sustainable Generation of Prestige

Harnessing an unexpected allegory, this chapter rethinks the concept of expertise and the figure of the expert in tandem with an understanding of how prestige is generated and circulates. During the 38th World Heritage Committee meeting in Doha, Singapore’s government ceremonially named an orchid in honour of UNESCO under its practice of ‘orchid diplomacy’. Yet who was really honouring whom? What may have been regarded as a brief, curious interlude is revealed as a microcosm of how experts are enlisted in states’ attempts to sustainably produce prestige in the World Heritage regime. This chapter embarks on a review of Singapore’s distinctive brand of orchid diplomacy, and demonstrates the conceptual parallels with the event in which it was situated. Drawing on broader literature, the chapter develops an understanding of the forms of World Heritage expertise: technical, diplomatic and bureaucratic. It finally introduces the notion that the World Heritage regime generates prestige on an inclusive rather than exclusive basis, an insight that—as is demonstrated through the remainder of the book—has important implications for understanding experts’ role.