ICOM's new code politicises museums, risking community fragmentation

The International Council of Museums (ICOM) adopted a new Code of Ethics in late June 2026 that politicises museum governance by mandating social justice, anti-discrimination, reparative practices, community participation, and sustainability. The term 'community' (and 'indigenous population') replaces the French tradition of 'society', 'public', or 'citizens', shifting decision-making on exhibition narratives and acquisitions away from curatorial expertise toward social demands. The code exposes museums to arbitrating between competing claims from ethnic communities, religious groups, sexual/gender minorities, activists, states, patrons, and political authorities. The author argues this may erode institutional authority, turning museums from spaces of knowledge into ideological battlegrounds, as seen in eco-activist attacks on artworks and controversies over naming at Musée Guimet (Tibet) and British Museum (Palestine). While community history museums have legitimacy, applying such normative frameworks to generalist museums risks alienating audiences and rendering art history discourse illegible.