Strategic Value of African Tribal Art: Auction Sales Trends as Cultural Intelligence

Intelligence and National Security, 27:2, 302-316, April 2012

Posted: 21 Jan 2020

See all articles by Erik Nemeth

Erik Nemeth

Cultural Security; RAND Corporation

Abstract

Military engagement of insurgents risks destruction of religious monuments and historic structures, and political and economic instability that follows armed conflict enables looting of antiquities. In combination, threats to cultural structures and movable cultural patrimony compromise cultural security. This paper explores the potential of the art market for open-source intelligence assessments of cultural security. A comparison of the market value of artifacts of different ethnic origins provides a measure of the risk of looting of cultural patrimony by geographic region. Intelligence assessments of the relative desirability of cultural artifacts by region of origin can inform strategic planning to mitigate looting in conflict zones and to alert security services to emerging threats of trafficking in cultural patrimony.

Keywords: art market, international security, antiquities, cultural property, intelligence collection

Suggested Citation

Nemeth, Erik and Nemeth, Erik, Strategic Value of African Tribal Art: Auction Sales Trends as Cultural Intelligence. Intelligence and National Security, 27:2, 302-316, April 2012, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1877525

Erik Nemeth (Contact Author)

RAND Corporation ( email )

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Santa Monica, CA
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HOME PAGE: http://www.rand.org/about/people/n/nemeth_erik.html

Cultural Security ( email )

Santa Monica, CA
United States

HOME PAGE: http://culturalsecurity.net

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