Responding to J. H. Merryman's discussion of cultural property
internationalism in the preceding IJCP issue, this article
examines the currency of the internationalist perspective within the
museum community. Perhaps surprisingly, there is little evidence of
adherence to an internationalist perspective, at least among the official
policies and publications of museums and museum organizations. The article
proposes that the current dissociation with cultural internationalism in
the acquisitions arena signals an important shift, and bears significant
long-term consequences for many museums.