Number 685 Dr. Neel Kamal Chapagain, Professor at Ahmedabad University's Centre for Heritage Management, explains that "[c]ultural heritage is becoming a more prominent vehicle for building international ties" and "support for or opposition to global cultural heritage campaigns, like UNESCO, have been used [in US presidential campaigns] to make political statements." for additional titles in theAsia Pacific Bulletin"...[C]ountries like China, South Korea, and Japan have significantly increased their spending on international cultural heritage cooperation efforts in recent years, focusing on cultural conventions to which the United States is not yet a signatory. The United States largely appears oblivious to or unconcerned about the growing diplomatic capital of emerging powers in cultural heritage initiatives." Cultural heritage is becoming a more prominent vehicle for building international ties, as evidenced by multilateral and bilateral collaborations through UNESCO and other channels. Even so, cultural heritage does not typically receive much attention during national elections, unlike environmental, economic, or geopolitical issues.