Sports Diplomacy

Abstract

IntroductionSports diplomacy is when sport is used as a political tool for enhancement, but which sometimes, worsens diplomatic relations between two countries. Sports diplomacy has been defined as 'the whole range of international contacts and competitions that have implications for the overall relations between the nations concerned' (Peppard & Riordan, 1993, 2). Even though this definition draws attention to issues and relations between states and within a single state, it also provides scope for analysing the actions of domestic and international non-state actors, and how the use of sport as a tool of diplomacy is applied in relation to the target state or states concerned. By its nature, sport is a highly sensitive, conditional, contextual and ambivalent means of communication. The inherent unpredictability of results in sports diplomacy is one of the risks taken by those who initiate or sponsor it (Peppard & Riordan, 1993, 6). The attraction of sports diplomacy is that it is a relatively lowcost, low risk but high profile tool of foreign policy, by which states and non-state actors are able to publicise their views on the actions and policies of others (Houlihan, 1994). The coexistence of sport and politics dates from the 9th century BC, when the institution of the truce or Ekecheiria, was established in ancient Greece by the signing of the international treaty by three Kings- Iphitos of Elis, Cleosthenes of Pisa and Lycurgus of Sparta. Close on their heels, all the other Greek cities ratified this agreement which recognised the permanent immunity or the sanctuary of sports persons at Olympia. By this agreement sports persons could travel to take part in sports events held at different places with protection from the authorities. However, for many centuries after that sport was overlooked, and it only regained importance in the 19th century.Sport was rediscovered by politics in the early 20th century, when the Olympic Games were revived in 1896. Within a short time the Games had developed into platforms for national competition and political leverage. Olympics are a leading example of using sports for diplomatic purposes. Other sports like cricket, table tennis and association football too, are being used in the global arena.OlympicsGoing far back as the 1936 Olympics, Adolf Hitler used it as a stage to promote Aryan superiority for Germany with his ideological belief of racial supremacy (Bachrach, 1936).The Olympics were used as a means of hardening the German spirit and instilling unity among the German youth. The global stage of the Olympics in 1968 was to highlight to the world the plight of the African-American struggle during the civil rights movement in their home country. In 1972, the Israeli Olympics team was massacred in an attack by Palestinian gunmen that started at the Olympic village and resulted in the death of 17 people. In 1980, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan led to a boycott of the Moscow Games by the Western powers and their allies in protest of Russian actions. In the Los Angeles Olympics of 1984, the Soviet Bloc led a retaliatory boycott of the Games.Table TennisThe most important and well recognised instance of sports-meets-politics is the famous 1971 table tennis game between host China and the United States, often dubbed 'ping-pong diplomacy'. This match led to a thaw in Sino-American relations and finally to US President Richard Nixon's rapprochement with China.CricketCricket too has a role to play in sporting diplomacy. Cricket tours between India and Pakistan were revived in 2004 in the wake of diplomatic steps to bury half a century of mutual hostility. Both sides relaxed their tough visa regulations, allowing thousands of fans to travel across the border (Field, 2010). In order to replicate cricket diplomacy of the past, General Pervez Musharraf, ex-President of Pakistan, had come to India in 2005 for a cricket match which ended on the note of a Summit. …