There has been a change in the operating environment that permits and causes artifact looting in war. Wars permit looting by enabling the formation of networks that process demands and provide cultural items to consumers that would not typically be available in peaceful conditions. State on state wars have resulted in looting that was driven by state demand. Changes in international legal statutes regarding the protection of cultural property in armed conflict have made state-sponsored looting illegal with the 1954 Hague Convention, as well as the additional 1977 and 1999 Protocols, and other internationally recognized guidelines and mutual agreements. With the rise of trans-national threats, international terrorist organizations, global economies, and greater connectivity, the demand for illicit cultural property is no longer coming from nation states. It now appears to come from structured private sales that are requesting specific items from regions where political instability and military conflict enable theft due to poor security and high violence. If the complex network can be defined, a solution may be tailored to identify potential looting sites, prevent theft, halt sales, and keep illicit networks from benefiting from the illegal antiquities trade. This may also provide local reconnaissance and feedback through tactical commanders that is usable by the international community to track artifacts already removed from a war zone and hold illegal purchasers accountable in criminal courts.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. The opinions and conclusions expressed herein are those of the student-authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College or any other governmental agency. (References to these studies should include the foregoing statement.)