Sport And Politics Research Articles

Coubertin’s Music: Culture, Class, and the Failure of the Olympic Project

This article considers the role of music in Pierre de Coubertin’s aesthetic thought and practice, with particular focus on the concept of “eurhythmy”, as expounded by writings published in the Revue Olympique in the early years of the Olympic movement. It argues that music – on account of its far-reaching and immediate emotional impact – should be considered the fundamental eurhythmic medium, and that, as a consequence of this centrality, Coubertin’s sporting performances should be grasped not only as enthralling visual spectacles, but heard as resounding presentations of his modern Olympic humanism. Simultaneously, however, an acute problem of social class emerges, thus affording us insights into the politics of spectator sport in one of its most prominent early twentieth-century arenas. Since a significant part of music’s impact is its powerful connotation of class, the musical choices Coubertin repeatedly made and dictated, and the hierarchy of taste they set out, point towards the inevitable sense of failure he felt when the Games took to the wider world stage in the hands of the national organising committees. The Berlin Summer Games of 1936 provide a closing case study of this trajectory: in some ways a culmination of Coubertin’s eurhythmics, they can also be understood – in the year before his death – as the final realization of the limits of his aesthetic project.

Rethinking of Korean Foreign Policy’s Practical Strategy : Focusing on Sports Diplomacy toward the Communist Bloc during the Cold War Era

Rethinking of Korean Foreign Policy’s Practical Strategy : Focusing on Sports Diplomacy toward the Communist Bloc during the Cold War Era

Exploring the Missing Link Between the Concussion “Crisis” and Labor Politics in Professional Sports

This study focuses on connections between labor struggles in professional sports and the epidemic of concussions among athletes, specifically in the National Football League (NFL) and National Hockey League (NHL). Using a critical discourse analysis (CDA), we explain how popular media presents concussions in ways that are informative but often avoid a more politicized discussion of the athlete as a manual worker whose body succumbs to use and abuse of sport. We found two recurring themes in the North American popular press, including a tendency to (1) rely on a trope of “millionaires-versus-billionaires” to explain (and minimize) recent labor lockouts in the NFL and NHL and (2) shift focus on league deniability to athletes’ self-responsibility in the concussion “crisis.” Despite the urgency in which sports concussions and brain injuries have been reported in recent years, the two narratives work to discourage readers from recognizing how such health issues arise under specific relations of production, and that an athlete is a particular type of worker whose body is subjected to decline and disposability like so many other bodies under late capitalism. As we argue, working conditions are inseparable from concussions in professional sports, a phenomenon that requires further development within the popular press.

Global sport governance: globalizing the globalized

The aim of this paper is to discuss the changing global sport governance environment in a globalized society. To do so, it focuses on the various international actors who participate in modern global sport governance. Taken into consideration the special global governing features of world sport, the paper aims at discussing the globalization of sport governance in relation to the emergence of the multi-actor perspective in global governance with emphasis given to the operation of the Olympic Movement as the perceived legitimate governing authority in sport politics. Aspects of the impact of sport globalization as discussed in this paper are evident in recent developments in the governance of a number of global sport organizations.

Dyplomacja sportowa w procesie łagodzenia konfliktów międzynarodowych

Sports diplomacy as a tool of easing international tensionsThe aim of the article is to theoretically analyse the issue of sports diplomacy from the perspective of its util­ity in easing international tensions. The research encompass clarification of the term sports diplomacy and investigation of two ways of using it in order to ease international tensions: changing perception of hostile states within particular societies and creating opportunities for political leaders from antagonistic countries to meet, which have been described with the use of actual historical cases.

Sports Diplomacy in the Australian Context: Theory into Strategy

These days, the study of soft power and public diplomacy is relatively advanced. The present article complements this growing body of work by focusing on the relationship between two institutions that are generally geared toward minimizing friction in international affairs: sport and diplomacy. Over the past five years, the study of “sports diplomacy” has grown but the same cannot be said about scholarship assessing its practice, that is, how theory is reconciled in practice. This is a gap this research seeks to overcome. It describes and critiques the efforts, challenges, and vicissitudes Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade faced when building and implementing the world's first Sports Diplomacy Strategy in 2015. The study finds that with appropriate ministerial support and innovative diplomats, both the theory and practice of sports diplomacy have a bright, promising future. Such analysis is useful because it encourages greater dialog between the ivory towers and the beltway of diplomacy.

The Sovereign Colony: Olympic Sport, National Identity, and International Politics in Puerto Rico

The Sovereign Colony: Olympic Sport, National Identity, and International Politics in Puerto Rico

‘Stick to Soccer:’ fan reaction and inclusion rhetoric on social media

In the wake of the United States Supreme Court ruling legalizing gay marriage nationwide, social media reflected a range of support and dissent. US Soccer posted a photo featuring an eagle and the phrase ‘One Nation, One Team’ in rainbow font on their official social media accounts. This paper explores the reaction to those posts by social media users. We examined comments made about the post and, using elements of grounded theory, found five themes emerge: (1) resistance to the intertwinement of politics and sport and pushback to that resistance; (2) patriotism/nationalism; (3) the symbolic importance of out gay players, coaches and fans; (4) general negative comments; and (5) general positive comments. We contextualize these themes in light of (1) the tension around the role of politics in sports, (2) US Soccer’s historical heterosexism and its manifestations and (3) the changing landscape of women’s sports in regards to homosexuality.

The Commonwealth Games as an Example of Bringing States Closer Through Sport

Abstract The aim of the article is to investigate the issue of positive sports diplomacy directed at bringing countries closer and deepening cooperation between them. Generally, sports diplomacy is a broader term and may include various ways of utilizing sport, both negative and positive, even for the sake of nation-branding. Positive sports diplomacy most commonly refers to bringing hostile states closer together, but it may also be used to deepen political alliances or foster friendship and cooperation between states that are not mutually hostile. The research focuses on the latter form of positive sports diplomacy. The investigation is a case study concerning the Commonwealth Games, a sports event that is held once every four years and gathers countries and territories that used to belong to the former British Empire. The research therefore aims to determine whether this event, the second largest multisport event in the world, is significant from political and diplomatic perspectives. A second research question concerns whether the Commonwealth Games should be seen as an attempt by Great Britain to maintain influence in its former colonies. The research attempts to test the hypothesis that the Commonwealth Games are an important contributor to sustaining ties between states of the former British Empire.

A Study on Direction of Sports Diplomacy Curriculum Development for Taekwondo Majors

태권도는 세계태권도연맹을 중심으로 전 세계 208개국 가맹국으로 활동하고 있다. 2000년 시드니올림픽을 시작으로 올림픽 정식종목으로 지정되었으며 2020년 일본에서 개최되는 도쿄올림픽에서도 핵심종목으로 활약하게 된다. 태권도는 한국이 종주국의 위치를 지닌 올림픽 스포츠 종목으로서 지난 반세기 동안 국제 스포츠계에서 한국이 스포츠 선진국으로서의 이미지를 구축하는데 긍정적인 역할을 하였다. 태권도의 외교적 역할과 기능에 대하여 끊임없이 긍정적인 평가가 이어져 왔다. 그러나 태권도 전문 지도자가 대학에서 지속적으로 배출되고 있는 한국의 실정에 비하여 태권도의 외교적 역할과 기능을 바로 이해하고 태권도 지도자들이 국제적인 활약을 할 수 있도록 돕는 교육과정의 개발은 미흡한 실정이었다. 이에 이 연구에서는 전문가 집단의 의견을 수렴하여 귀납적 분석을 통해 다음과 같은 태권도전공생을 위한 스포츠외교 교육과정의 개발 방향성을 탐색하였다. 첫째, 태권도의 스포츠외교 교육과정 현황에 따른 스포츠외교 교육의 필요성 및 당위성을 확립해야 한다. 제시되는 문제로는 태권도 종주국 한국의 태권도 전공생들의 위상 강화 필요, 태권도의 세계화에 따른 원활한 해외교류를 위한 기본 지식의 교육 필요, 사회전반에 걸친 세계화 흐름에 맞추어가는 태권도 문화의 확립 필요, 태권도 국제 이벤트 활성화 및 태권도 관련 기관의 발전으로 인한 전문 인력 필요 이다. 둘째, 태권도 전공생을 위한 스포츠외교 교육을 구체화하고 전문화한 교육과정 내용의 재정비가 필요하다. 주요 내용구성의 범주로는 외교 및 정책, 사회 및 문화, 커뮤니케이션, 행정 영역으로 구분하여 개발 할 수 있을 것이다.

Canada – USSR Hockey Exchanges. Between Positive and Negative Sports Diplomacy

The research has been financed by National Science Centre, Poland, within project number 2015/19/D/HS5/00513

Enhancing international dispute settlement: the role of sports diplomacy

Not only the ancient Olympic truce practice but also the rules of modern football game demonstrate that sports can work as a supplementary means in international dispute settlement. Sports diplomacy is a tool which expresses political attitudes and can improve the national image. Sports diplomacy sets a foundation for further public opinion direction and also it can cultivate a good atmosphere between the countries to help resolve disputes. 'Ping-pong diplomacy' proved to be a useful tool in Sino-US reconciliation in the late 1960s, which also showed the unique charm of sports diplomacy. Based on the historical experience of the Sino-US 'ping-pong diplomacy', the aim of this study is to analyse the applicability of sports diplomacy in the current global environment, while offering mechanism for the relevant international disputes, global problems and practical legal issues.

Playing Home: The Boy in the Mirror as Sportswriter

Abstract: Surprisingly few accounts have directly focused on the impact of sport on Caryl Phillips' work or even his own writings on the meanings of sport. In this essay I seek to rectify this imbalance. I examine Phillips' significant contributions to understanding sport, particularly his screenplay Playing Away and his essays on football, and trace the importance of sport to his own sense of belonging. I argue that, despite the neglect of his sports-writing by most critics, such excursions onto the playing fields are far from marginal to his intellectual and literary formation. I suggest that reclaiming Phillips as a reveals how sport is central to his understandings of (national) belonging, (racial and class) identification, and (social) rejection and provides a useful analytical lens through which to better understand his reflections on diaspora and In this regard, I draw out comparisons between Phillips and that other great Caribbean of letters, C. L. R. James for whom sport, and in particular cricket, provided a window onto the world. I conclude by arguing that Phillips be understood as a critical sportswriter who increases our understanding of the cultural politics of play and sport and thus expands and exceeds the genre of sports-writing. Keywords: Caryl Phillips, sport, racism, sportswriter, belonging, home ********** The question. The problem question for those of us who have grown up in societies which define themselves by excluding others. Usually us. A coded question. Are you one of us? Are you one of ours? Where are you from? Where are you really from? And now, here on a plane flying to Africa, the same clumsy question. Does he mean, who am I? Does he mean, do I belong? Why does this man not understand the complexity of his question? I make the familiar flustered attempt to answer the question. He listens, and then spoils it all. 'So, my friend, you are going home to Africa. To Ghana.' I say nothing. No, I am not going home. Caryl Phillips, The Atlantic Sound 98 (emphasis added) It follows that the term 'post-colonial' is not merely descriptive of 'this' society rather than 'that', or of 'then' and 'now'. It rereads 'colonisation' as part of an essentially transnational and transcultural 'global' process--and it produces a decentred, diasporic or 'global' rewriting of earlier, nation-centred imperial grand narratives. Its theoretical value therefore lies precisely in its refusal of this 'here' and 'there', 'then' and 'now', 'home' and 'abroad' perspective. Stuart Hall, When Was the 'Post-colonial'? Thinking at the Limit 247 So the West, however violently and neurotically it seeks to preserve its powers and position, its centrality, is paradoxically destined to be deluded by its apparent global presence. In travelling elsewhere its languages return in other forms, following other rhythms, bearing other desires. They cannot go home again. They are home. Iain Chambers, Signs of Silence, Lines of Listening 57 I. Introduction In November 2011, Caryl Phillips was interviewed by journalist Razia Iqbal for the BBC World News television program Talking Books. Speaking of his experiences growing up in Leeds and his deep attachment to the city, Phillips remarked: I grew up in a town where one was aware of the fact you were different, that was obvious, you dealt with being called names at school. But I had a real sense of unity and bonding with that city which survives to this day. It was largely cultivated around a real passion for Leeds United and a sense that no matter what else was going wrong in your life there were forty-five thousand of you in that stadium and we always won and that was who we were. So I was able to overlook a lot of the difficulties that were to do with race. (Phillips, Class Prejudice) Much has been written on the significant periods that shaped Phillips' work, such as his migration to Britain in the late 1950s, his upbringing in a working-class area of Leeds and subsequent education at Oxford University, and his move to the United States. …

Międzynarodowy Komitet Olimpijski jako aktor dyplomatyczny

The issue of diplomatic activity of the International Olympic Committee is the subject of the research, whereas the main research problem refers to the question whether in the contemporary world the IOC can be regarded as a diplomatic actor? The article comprises a theoretical part dedicated to the category of sports diplomacy and its actors and an empirical part which encompasses four case studies which illustrate the proposed types of diplomatic activities of the IOC. According to the main hypothesis, position and role of the IOC in the contemporary world led to a situation that its activity in the international environment strongly resembles diplomatic activity of states.

Enhancing international dispute settlement: the role of sports diplomacy

Enhancing international dispute settlement: the role of sports diplomacy

Contested states and the politics of sport: the case of Kosovo – division, development, and recognition

ABSTRACTThis paper provides the first detailed analysis of the politics of sport in the small, post-conflict, contested state of Kosovo, located in the Western Balkan region of Europe. A former province of Yugoslavia, Kosovo endured a bloody civil war in the late 1990s between Serbian-led Yugoslav forces and Kosovo Liberation Army. In the post-conflict context, Kosovo has undergone a long period of reconstruction with major Western support; has been partially recognised by the international community since declaring independence from Serbia in 2008; and, has experienced significant regional ethno-national divisions and tensions, primarily between the Albanian majority and Serbian minority. We examine how sport in Kosovo influences and is influenced by these wider political processes. Our discussion is organised into three main parts. First, we set out our analytical approach, and then outline the main historical, social, and political features of Kosovo. Second, we examine the key political aspects of sport in Kosovo, with respect to development, the struggle for recognition, and social conflicts and divisions. Third, we address the cultural politics of sport in Kosovo with reference to issues of national and transnational identification, symbolic conflicts involving different national groups, and the role of the sport for development and peace (SDP) sector in building better cross-community ties. Our analysis is underpinned by international relations theories, notably a mix of critical and constructivist approaches; and draws on fieldwork and many interviews with key stakeholders in the sport, development, government, and education sectors in Kosovo.

Promoting Scotland, Diplomacy and Influence through Sport

Sport is being used by a number of countries to raise profile, and create influence. Sports diplomacy has an increasing presence in terms of theory, practice and evidence within international relations. Sports diplomacy may occur both within sport and through sport. The channels through which this is facilitated are complex. Scotland has much to learn from places such as Australia that have put in place a dedicated four-year sports diplomacy strategy. The article sets out to answer key questions and doing so suggests that Scottish sport is capable of making the art of the possible, possible, but that Scotland has yet to grasp the opportunities provided by sport's global currency. The article concludes by making six recommendations.

Introduction to Special Section: “Mobilizing Race: Borders, Translations, Movements”

Introduction to Special Section: “Mobilizing Race: Borders, Translations, Movements”

Frequency of sports dreams and dreams about politics: An online study

There have been many recent studies that proofed the continuity hypothesis which suggests that dream content reflects waking life experiences. This study investigated factors that affect the frequency of sport and politics dreams. The online survey (N=2929 German speaking participants) showed a prevalence of about 6% sport dreams and 4% politics dreams. Results indicated that younger and male participants dreamed more often about sport and politics. Furthermore, higher education was positively correlated with a higher frequency of politics dreams. Moreover, a positive correlation between lucid dream recall frequency and sport dreams was found. Further research is needed to corroborate the present findings using dream diaries to minimize the bias of the retrospective estimates. In addition, the political and sport-related activities of the participants during the day should be assessed in order to correlate waking variables with frequencies of the dream topics directly. These studies might help to further understand the continuity between dream content and waking life experiences.

Women’s Sport as a Symbol of Modernity: A Case Study in Turkey

Turkey has a distinctive position with regard to its geography and history among Muslim countries. Particular features are its secular system and far reaching modernization processes particularly with respect to the ‘emancipation’ of women. The aim of this paper is to describe and analyze sport and body politics as part of the modernization processes in Turkey and to explore in particular the multiple roles of different groups of women in the reforms initiated by the Turkish Governments. A focus will be on the intersecting influences of gender and social class. The famous archaeologist Halet Çambel will be used as an example of the ‘modern’ woman who embodied reformist ideologies. Çambel was the daughter of an elite family; she was born in Berlin where her father was an attaché at the Turkey embassy. She studied in France and participated in the Olympic Games in 1936. She and another Turkish fencer were the first women from a Muslim country to participate in the Olympic Games. Later she became the most famous archaeologist in Turkey and she stayed physically active all her life. In particular, horse riding became a favourite activity as she travelled to archaeological sites on horseback.