Politics and Sport Flashcards
What is politics
Def: “any activity related to influencing,
making, and implementing
decisions that affect collections of
groups of people, from small groups
to societies”
In a more informal sense, politics
are about power:
-Who or what group has the authority to enact their preferred ideologies, structures, and meanings in a society
- Public funding, legislation, and processes of accountability all play
a role in political processes
Canada’s sports policy framework
Canada sport policy 2012
-Goverment is main funder of the sport system in Canada
What polices are included:
-doping
-participation in sports for women and girls
-Polices for mega sports events
-sports for those with disability
Thorny policy issues:
-example of concussion
-challenging/controversial polices
Canada sports and politics
Canada funds majority of public sport
-national sport organization
-olympic and Paralympic sport centres and institutes
-national multisport service organizations (ex: common wealth games)
Civil society
Sport organizations …
MSOs = National Multisport Services
Organizations and
NSOs = National Sport Organizations) are key parts of civil society
- Civil society: groups and organizations working in the interest of citizens but not officially as part of government or for-profit sector
Sports as an instrument for foreign policy
Soft power:
“forms of power that seek to influence
outcomes through non-coercive means” (involves “politics of
persuasion”)
MOST NATIONS HAVE USED SPORT EVENTS REGULARLY TO PROMOTE THEIR OWN MILITARY, ECONOMIC, POLITICAL, AND CULTURAL GOALS
Sports “soft power” and the Cold War
Cold War—post World War II to the early 1990s (1947– 1991): U.S. (and allies) vs. U.S.S.R (and allies)
- Played out via “proxy” wars in remote parts of the world (instead of direct armed conflict)
- Also via social and cultural confrontations (like sport) that were meant to demonstrate superiority of way of life and economic system
- U.S.S.R. and U.S.A. both invested heavily in high performance sport
Protests and boycotts: each refused to participate in events hosted by the other as a form of protest against what each called “objectionable” action
Sports “soft power” and the Cold War examples
- U.S. and Canada, plus 64 other countries, boycotted the 1980 Moscow Summer Olympics to protest the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan
Famous U.S.- Soviet Union hockey game at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y.
* “The Miracle on Ice”
Famous 1972 Canada-Russia
“Summit Series”
* Eight games series
* Formally billed (by diplomats) as a
venue for building bridges and
understanding between the two
countries
* Not only about hockey, but about
Beyond Superpowers
What about some of the world’s
poorer and less politically powerful
nations?
* International sports competitions
can provide them an uncommon
platform
* Cricket: West Indies and India
At the top of the international level of sports governance are 2 international sports federations
-FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association)
-IOC (International Olympic Committee)
- Powerful monopolies, little oversight, and their “brands” highly desirable
- Many countries chose to “look the other way” even with growing evidence of corruption, abuse of power (2015)
Mega Events such as the olympics
Urban policy and sports mega-events in the Global South: 3 factors
- Commercial and political implications
- Profitability for IOC and FIFA must be assured
-Plus ensure spectators’ comfort and safety - Enhance national profile
-Shake off the stigma of “underdevelopment”
Mega events
Economic growth and legitimizing urban redevelopment
-National belonging
What about long-term development and poverty alleviation…?
-Not really à “visual protection screens,” settlement demolition, and forced eviction
Slum of Brazil near rio de sensero
big wall
inside no housing rights or sewer system
favelas = urgent image issue for olympics and World Cup
THE OLYMPICS AND THE FAVELAS (slums)
An urgent “image issue”
-750 favelas
-How many city residents
live in one?
-1/6
Strategies:
1. Invisibilization
2. Pacification
3. Beautification
INVISIBILIZATION
-Erecting walls for visual barrier
-Strategic media representations that
visually erase communities
covering slums in pre tournament photos
-strategic
PACIFICATION
Improve the security situation as well as to create preconditions for future social projects and infrastructure development
pacify=smooth
Massive deployment of special operations police force to kill, arrest, or expel members of drug gangs
-“Pacifying police unit” for whom and what purpose?
-20 families wouldn’t leave, build them new houses to look better, rare instances
-hide the poor
BEAUTIFICATION
Improve quality of life and local
living conditions for residents…?
-But houses were demolished in the
process
