Introduction
Sports and politics are inextricably linked, and this fact should not be overlooked. As a result of this, sports and politics have a close connection. As a microcosm of a society’s common belief system, sports are intrinsically tied to culture. Sports, according to Dean Allen, symbolized the patriarchal culture of Victorian Great Britain. Rugby and cricket, for example, have evolved from mere pastimes to “strong and symbolic representations” of the ideal Anglo-Saxon man, as historians put it. Sports became a symbol of “the civilizing mission of the British man overseas” at the pinnacle of the British Empire. Anglo-Saxon hegemony and hyper-masculinity were on display in the world of these sports (Tregenza, 2011).
Impact of Sports on International Relations
To understand sports and politics, first understand sports and culture. Sports and hobbies have long signified cultural ideas and how individuals spend their free time. Mayans utilized sports to pick sacrifices. Medieval rulers arranged tournaments to show off their riches and encourage warriors to showcase their strength (Cruse, 2022).
American athletes have advocated for social change throughout history. Muhammad Ali was conscripted but refused to fight in Vietnam. Ali stated he “had no beef with the Viet Cong” and didn’t want to fight them. Ali endured fan criticism, a five-year jail term, a $10,000 fine, and a three-year boxing suspension for draft evasion. Jim Brown, Bill Russell, and Kareem Abdul Jabbar staged a press conference to back Ali’s protest. Many Americans loathed Ali for this, but now he’s a hero. John Carlos and Tommie Smith raised a fist during The Star-Spangled Banner to protest racial inequality at the 1968 Olympics (Chen, 2014). These are a few ways athletes have advocated for social change.
Benito Mussolini promoted Fascist in Italy by hosting the 1934 FIFA World Cup there. Adolf Hitler also promoted the Nazi doctrine of the inferiority of the Jewish people and other “undesirables” during the 1936 Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. Many athletes, especially those in rugby union, embraced the conscientious stance that they should not participate in competitive sports in South Africa while apartheid remained the country’s official policy. While some believe this was a significant step toward the ultimate demise of apartheid, others believe the worst impacts may have been reinforced and perpetuated. The fundamental issue of “who is a South African?” was raised by a powerful non-racial movement during the apartheid period, which questioned the sport’s apartheid-era foundation of customary segregation reinforced by general discriminatory laws (Reiche, 2015).
The 1972 Olympics in Munich were a historic sports-politics clash. Masked men murdered numerous Israeli athletes at their hotel known as Munich massacre. Gaelic sports were linked to Irish cultural nationalism. Until the mid-20th century, a person may be barred from playing Gaelic football, hurling, or other GAA sports if she/he played or supported football or other British games (Chen, 2014).
After the conclusion of the cold war, Western powers, who hadn’t given sport enough priority in international affairs until the early 1970s, included it in their political plans. Western states began to differentiate in the 1970s. Western governments, especially the U.S. and Canada, realized that sport plays an essential role internationally and sent athletes to China in 1973 to redefine bilateral ties (Borenstein, 2020).
Since 1945, the ideological struggle between the US-led west and the Soviet-led east has shaped the globe. This competition was competitive, cultural, artistic, athletic, literary, and technological. Competition policy fuelled the Cold War (Cruse, 2022). The sport was a power test between two political poles without conflict. 22 African nations boycotted 1976 Montreal Olympics. Taiwan boycotted the organizing committee due of People’s republic of china. The USSR’s invasion of Afghanistan prompted 65 nations to boycott the 1980 Moscow Olympics. Eastern Bloc nations boycotted 1984 Los Angeles Olympics for security and anti-Soviet propaganda. Romania joined these Olympics. In 1988, weightlifter Naim Suleymanoglu was on the cover of “Time” magazine. In the same year, he competed in Australia. He then escaped Bulgaria for Turkey (Cruse, 2022).
Conclusion
Given that it is a component of global culture, sport serves as an effective tool for bringing people from all over the globe together. It is a practice that advances global peace. It may be characterized as the sum of all actions taken to effect both bodily and moral as well as societal advantages. It has served as an excellent weapon for sanctions in international affairs.
Reference
Borenstein, H., 2020. Sports in African History, Politics, and Identity Formation ed. by Saheed Aderinto, and Michael J. Gennaro. Journal of Sport History, 47(3), pp.292-294.
Chen, X., 2014. The Relation between Sports Building and City Image. Advanced Materials Research, 919-921, pp.1549-1552.
Cruse, D., 2022. Politics and Sports: A Complicated Relationship – The Clarion. [online] The Clarion. Available at: https://www.theonlineclarion.com/news/2022/05/03/politics-and-sports-a-complicated-relationship/ [Accessed 22 July 2022].
Reiche, D., 2015. German Sports, Doping, and Politics: A History of Performance Enhancement. German Politics, 25(1), pp.162-163.
Tregenza, I., 2011. On the Relation between Politics and Time. Australian Journal of Politics & History, 57(3), pp.366-376.
