Sport And Foreign Policy In A Globalizing World

Globalization is effecting a close convergence of sport and foreign policy. In order to respond to novel social, political, cultural and economic pressures, states are increasingly turning to sport as a foreign policy instrument; and they cannot ignore the corresponding influence that global sport has on their core interests. This book is devoted to exploring this relationship in detail. Although any examination of sport and foreign policy inevitably focuses on issues related to both politics and international relations, the primary intention here is to consider the dimensions associated with foreign policy. This book was previously published as a special issue of Sport in Society.

This handbook illustrates the utility of global sport as a lens through which to disentangle the interconnected political, economic, cultural, and social patterns that shape our lives. Drawing on multidisciplinary perspectives, it is organized into three parts. The first part outlines theoretical and conceptual insights from global sport scholarship: from the conceptualization and development of globalization theories, transnationalism and transnational capital, through to mediasport, roving coloniality, and neoliberal doctrine. The second part illustrates the varied flows within global sport and the ways in which these flows are contested, across physical cultures/sport forms, identities, ideologies, media, and economic capital. Diverse topics and cases are covered, such as sport business and the global sport industry, financial fair play, and global mediasport. Finally, the third part explores various aspects of global sport development and governance, incorporating insights from work in the Global South. Across all of these contributions, varied approaches are taken to examine the ‘power of sport’ trope, generating a thought-provoking dialogue for the reader. Featuring an accomplished roster of contributors and wide-ranging coverage of key issues and debates, this handbook will serve as an indispensable resource for scholars and students of contemporary sports studies.

Sport plays a highly significant role in the lives of millions the world over, and yet the impact of this global phenomenon on the subject of international relations hes been neglected. The contributors to this collection argue that sport remains both an underestimated and understudied aspect of international relations, and that the growth of its importance should be seen in the complex interdependencies and global systems of governance. The text examines: * how the expansion of professional sport, and the revenues generated by mass media's links with sport have transformed the international political economy; * how sport contributes to nation building and notions of identity; * how sport is a significant facet of international diplomacy. International sport is far from being peripheral to international relations. This challenging and comprehensive introduction will be of interest to students and all those working in international relations and sport studies.

Sport is enjoyed by millions of people across the world, and both watching and playing sport constitutes a major part of modern leisure time. But sport is also a huge worldwide industry. In Globalizing Sport, George Sage invites readers to explore a deeper understanding of the global dynamics of sport - not only competitions but of the big businesses of money, media coverage, athletic apparel and more. He shows how phenomena such as migration, labour, commerce and politics affect the athletes and the fans, continually reshaping the business and experience of sport. Globalizing Sport puts sport in its political, economic and social context, revealing its connections with businesses, countries, media outlets and education systems.

Exploring the role and significance of sport in international politics, this volume discusses issues including the impact of international organizations on domestic sport policy. It focuses on an analysis of the global infrastructure of sport and the significance of international sports events.

"Opinions about sport are as varied as sport itself. But it is clear that when girls in Saudi Arabia ride a bike, it is not just for fun. It makes a social statement. Sport has a universal attraction, it spans linguistic and cultural boundaries. It gets into the hearts of people all over the world and opens doors. The integration of refugees, conflict resolution, human rights and the fight against racism, - these are just some of the areas where sport can have a positive role to play. But the ideal of fair play is under thread from corruption and commercialization. Greed and political manoevering have thrown a dark shadow over recent - and future - mega sports events. Can sport be a useful tool in cultural relations? And what can we as normal citizens learn from an extreme mountaineer? These and other questions are addressed in the Culture Report and EUNIC yearbook 2016 by authors as diverse as Umberto Ego, Reinhold Messner, Dave Eggers, Serhij Zhadan, Beqë Cufaj and Claus Leggewie." --

"In an era of such divisiveness, it behooves all of us to consider means by which we can bring people together."-Mr. Richard Armitage, Former Deputy Secretary of State for the United States of America The growing influence of sport has created a unique opportunity to build international relationships for a number of purposes, including cultural, economic, shared humanitarian, and increasingly, political diplomacy. Case Studies in Sport Diplomacy explores the influence and effectiveness of sport diplomacy in improving long-term relations between nations by opening a dialogue with international leaders, raising awareness of host countries and to bridging cultural differences, and in building international relationships through ambassadors that could increase trade and legislative agreements, and even bring peace to nations in conflict. Authored by talented scholars from all over the world, many of whom served as sport diplomats, their unique perspective in each case sheds light on the ways in which sport diplomacy can succeed or falter in achieving strategic objectives between influential - and in some cases historically adversarial - countries. A thoroughly intriguing look at sport diplomacy's past and ongoing efforts to improve relations with countries such as Brazil, Russia, Iran and China, Case Studies in Sport Diplomacy brings to the forefront an area in which sport has been able to open up and increase opportunities to build relationships between people, communities, governments and countries.