Cooperation in the Field of Protection of Cultural Heritage as a New Dimension of BRICS Policy

The chapter is devoted to defining the role and place of cooperation in the field of preservation of cultural heritage in BRICS diplomacy. The relevance of the topic is determined, first, by the fact that in the context of crises, conflicts, and disasters, the problem of preservation of the cultural heritage is acute for humanity and gains global character; second, by the fact that the BRICS countries are the owners of a significant number of cultural sites representing a great value to the whole world; and third, by the fact that the most recent documents of the member countries and the speeches of their leaders clearly demonstrate the increased focus on deepening cooperation in the protection of cultural heritage. The chapter analyzes the national approaches to cultural heritage preservation and determines the place of cultural heritage issues in BRICS cooperation documents and practices, identifies the main problems related to the development of collective measures for the protection of cultural property, and formulates recommendations aimed at improving the effectiveness of these measures. The research employs a values-based approach to the notion of cultural heritage reflected in the main UNESCO documents. The main methods of research were the content and discourse analysis of documents and materials of the BRICS summits and meetings, which regulate and characterize cultural cooperation between the member countries, as well as the comparative analysis and prognostic method used in formulating recommendations. The findings demonstrate that recently there has emerged the trend toward the identification of the activity in the field of protection of cultural heritage as an important, independent area of cooperation among the BRICS countries, but neither the legal nor the institutional nor the practical framework has been developed yet. At the same time, the authors note that successful “cultural heritage diplomacy” would reinforce the BRICS’ credibility, enrich the interaction of the member states with new ideas, and help them to address many national-level challenges in the field of cultural heritage protection.