Sport and Diplomacy: Games within Games

Description

The purpose of this book is to critically enhance the appreciation of Diplomacy and Sport in global affairs for both practitioners and scholars. The book will make an important new contribution to at least two distinct fields of study: Diplomacy and Sport, as well as to those concerned with History, Politics, Sociology, and International Relations. The critical analysis the book provides explores the linkages across these fields, particularly in relation to Soft Power and Public Diplomacy. Its conclusions offer avenues for further study based on the future of the relationship between sport and diplomacy. The book has strong international basis: it covers a broad range of countries, their diplomatic relationship with sport and is written by a truly transnational cast of authors. The intense media scrutiny on the Olympic Games, FIFA World Cup, and other international sports will contribute to the global interest in this volume. -- .

J. Simon Rofe is Reader in Diplomatic and International Studies in the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy (CISD) at SOAS University of London -- .

'Sport and Diplomacy deepens insights into the interplay of the sporting world and world politics, making a convincing case for the efficacy of soft power. The global coverage highlights Asia, Europe, and North America, remarkably providing, in one volume, studies of sports in Afghanistan before World War II, a few on China during the Cold War, the Reagan revolution, and French club sports, among others. Individual chapters address sports as a diplomatic weapon or tool, and the transnational as well as state-centered, public perspective on sports. This collection adds a conceptual section that truly advances the field of sports history, and embeds it theoretically in diplomatic history.' Thomas W. Zeiler, Professor of History, University of Colorado Boulder and author of Ambassadors in Pinstripes -- .