Welterbestädte Südosteuropas im Spannungsfeld von Cultural Governance und lokaler Zivilgesellschaft : untersucht am Beispiel Gjirokastra (Albanien)

Global UNESCO World Heritage strategies often fail to effectively address regional challenges, particularly in post-socialist Southeast Europe. This study reveals that standardized governance models and implementation criteria, when applied without local adaptation, exacerbate tensions between cultural governance and civil society, leading to ineffective conservation outcomes. Using Gjirokastra, Albania, as a case study, the research applies multi-level governance theory to analyze how institutional weaknesses, elite conflicts, corruption, and unclear property rights hinder World Heritage protection. It demonstrates that the post-socialist transformation context—marked by state institution collapse, privatization, and rapid urban changes—creates unique obstacles that global strategies overlook, resulting in neglect of heritage values amid unregulated modernization.

Bickert, M. (2015). Welterbestädte Südosteuropas im Spannungsfeld von Cultural Governance und lokaler Zivilgesellschaft : untersucht am Beispiel Gjirokastra (Albanien). Bamberger Geographische Schriften. https://doi.org/10.20378/irb-21291