Lorenzo Casini, Advanced Introduction to Cultural Heritage Law

Lorenzo Casini’s new book is part of a series called “Elgar Advanced Introductions”, which promises to “offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas”, being “accessible yet rigorous”.1 In these respects, the book clearly succeeds. Lorenzo Casini offers us an erudite yet readable volume which, moving at a brisk pace, engages with major classic and emerging concepts of concern to the field.

The book, as an “Advanced Introduction”, offers no overarching thesis, and its main intent is to map key debates for those seeking to enter the field. And yet, through its structure, Casini reveals a normative project: to leverage a cosmopolitan commitment to safeguarding cultural heritage beyond state borders, with its corresponding analytical backing.