Transnational serial World Heritage nominations can be instruments of cultural diplomacy. Evaluate with reference to the Silk Roads.

A serial transnational nomination lists many sites in several countries as one World Heritage property. The Chang'an–Tianshan Corridor is a ~5,000 km stretch of the Silk Roads with 33 components. China, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan nominated it jointly, and it was inscribed in 2014 [1]. It shows that such nominations can serve diplomacy, though within limits.

Strengths as instruments of cultural diplomacy

• Common narrative across borders: The inscription needed a shared value framework and an intergovernmental cooperation mechanism, even though the countries had different political systems, laws and languages. UNESCO calls this a best practice [2].
• Institutionalised cooperation: The UNESCO/Japan Phase II project (2015–19) trained national experts from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to document, conserve and manage the corridors [3].
• Demonstration effect: Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan followed with the Zarafshan–Karakum Corridor (2023) [4].
• Knowledge diplomacy: The Digital Archive of the Silk Roads, based in Hangzhou, was launched to mark 30 years of UNESCO's Silk Roads Project. It makes this research available to scholars worldwide [5].

Limitations

• Excludes states that are not physically linked: India's 12 "Silk Road Sites", from Kushinagar to Arikamedu, have been on the Tentative List since 2010. None has been inscribed. They are scattered and have no partner country [6].
• Heritage blurs into infrastructure: China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) uses the "Silk Road" brand. India rejects BRI because the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, which India says violates its sovereignty and territorial integrity [7]. Taking part in the heritage story could look like endorsing the project.
• Uneven influence over the story: The first corridor and the digital archive are both anchored in China [1][5]. The strongest partner may decide whose history is told.
• Hard to manage: Different legal and administrative systems require coordination over many years [2]. Capacity is uneven, so countries depend on donors [3].

Verdict: These nominations are effective diplomatic tools. However, their reach depends on geography and on how far heritage is kept separate from strategic projects.

Overall, the Silk Roads show that shared heritage can build trust, institutions and soft power. India could turn its scattered list into a Buddhist overland corridor and a maritime corridor, nominate them with willing partners, and keep heritage work separate from BRI. This approach fits the 1972 World Heritage Convention's idea of a common heritage of humanity and SDG 11.4: shared heritage can bring countries together without dividing them.