Towards heritage diplomacy: A case study of post-war restitution of artistic heritage in socialist Slovenia/Yugoslavia

The project examines artistic heritage displaced from the territory of Slovenia/Yugoslavia by the Axis powers during the Second World War, combining art history and historiography in a transdisciplinary approach. It addresses questions of (non-)restitution of artistic heritage, as well as broader processes of negotiating ownership and managing cultural heritage in international post-conflict contexts. Particular attention is paid to the role of these processes in the diplomatic relations and cultural policy of Slovenia/Yugoslavia. The project foregrounds the transnational and diplomatic dimensions of heritage, with particular attention to how ownership and restitution were negotiated between states.

The project is based on the observation that, despite sustained efforts by the international and academic community and important milestones – such as the expansion of provenance research following the adoption of the Washington Principles (1998) and the Sarr-Savoy Report (2018), which reframed debates on the return of cultural objects – many cases of restitution and negotiation of ownership of cultural heritage continue to encounter obstacles, conflicting interests, nationally framed arguments, and a gap between declarative frameworks and actual practice. By analysing historical case studies of artistic restitution in Slovenia/Yugoslavia, the project establishes a solid scholarly basis for reflecting on alternative approaches to the return of cultural objects and the negotiation of ownership relations. It proposes a shift towards a transnational understanding of these processes through the concept of heritage diplomacy, which regards cultural heritage as the shared heritage of humanity and highlights its potential to foster international cooperation, dialogue, and reconciliation.

The empirical research examines how politicians, diplomats, and experts framed questions of restitution and heritage ownership within diplomatic and cultural-policy debates, and what kinds of discourses accompanied restitution claims and other forms of negotiating ownership. The analysis focuses on the relationship between national arguments and political-diplomatic interests on one hand, and art-historical, historical, legal, ethical, and cultural-policy considerations on the other, as well as their impact on the course of these processes. It seeks to understand the reasons behind the (un)successful outcomes of individual claims and how such issues were addressed within the post-war cultural policy of the new state. At the same time, it identifies key actors (institutions and individuals) and analyses their interrelations, interests, motivations, and decision-making practices. This systematic approach, combined with the examination of previously overlooked topics – such as the role of women in restitution processes – generates new insights and contributes to the development of a broader analytical framework applicable to other temporal and socio-political contexts.

The research focuses on the period following the Second World War. It begins by establishing the political-diplomatic and cultural-policy framework of restitution in post-war Slovenia/Yugoslavia, with particular attention to the work of the Reparations Commission (1945–1954), the central Yugoslav institution responsible for restitution, which coordinated the activities of restitution delegations in Vienna, Brussels, Rome, and Budapest. It then turns to selected case studies of the return of artistic heritage and other forms of negotiating ownership relations, particularly in Austria and Italy, developing a comparative perspective on similarities and differences between these processes. The case studies examine selected objects, the legal framework, and the roles and activities of individual actors. The analysis is situated within the broader context of power relations in post-war Yugoslavia, the early Cold War, and the political transformations of Europe.

Project objectives:

1. To deepen understanding of restitution processes and broader processes of negotiating ownership of cultural heritage within Yugoslav diplomacy.
2. To analyse the relationship of cultural policy to questions of restitution in socialist Slovenia/Yugoslavia.
3. To examine the circumstances and arguments that shaped the (non-)realisation of restitution claims and other forms of negotiating ownership in relation to the former Axis powers.
4. To assess the degree of success of these claims and processes.
5. To identify key institutions and actors and analyse their influence on restitution procedures and broader processes of negotiating ownership of cultural heritage.
6. To provide historically grounded insights as a basis for further research.
7. To develop guidelines for integrating the principles of heritage diplomacy into approaches to the restitution of art heritage and the negotiation of ownership.