Decolonizing restitution: cultural heritage supranationalism and the question of sovereignty

This paper introduces cultural heritage supranationalism as a framework for analyzing how Western states, museums, and international organizations continue to regulate the retention and restitution of looted cultural artifacts. It argues that restitution, often presented as a neutral or ethical process, remains structured by postcolonial power asymmetries that constrain the sovereignty of origin nations and communities. Drawing on decolonial theory, critiques of international law, and debates in museum studies, the paper shows how restitution negotiations privilege Eurocentric legal, diplomatic, and museological norms, requiring source nations to navigate external conditions in order to reclaim their heritage. Through three case studies-the German restitution of the Benin Bronzes and its resistance to the authority of the Oba of Benin, Glasgow’s effort to tie return to democratic reform in Nigeria, and the epistemic claims of the universal museum-the paper identifies three major threats posed by cultural heritage supranationalism: the disruption of internal governance, the imposition of political conditionality, and the preservation of Western interpretive authority. It concludes by calling for a decolonial model of restitution grounded in plural sovereignty, cultural autonomy, and community-centered stewardship.