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by Among the myriad ways in which diplomacy can be conducted, sports is probably the healthiest one, quite literally as well as figuratively. This summer was no less of an international festival where some nations promoted their image while others staged protests to seek the world's attention. Whether it is the celebration or rejection of the Olympics, neither can be studied without the context of what is happening within the countries as well as among the countries, especially when its whole genesis betrays its politically charged nature. As much as the International Olympic Committee attempts to present a rosy picture of the games as something beyond politics, nothing explains it better than this borrowed Clausewitzian quote, “World Sports event, not much unlike war, is a continuation of politics by other means”. This article delves into the trajectory of the Olympics as the playground of geopolitics and quite possibly but rarely, as a beacon of hope for cooperation even in times of despair and conflict.
Article by Megha Sharma | Edited by Ajitesh Vishwanath
Research & Publications Division
Olympics’ root (as the name suggests) goes back to times in ancient Greece, when city-states leveraged the occasion for political maneuvering and forming alliances. The event offered a truce for the cessation of hostilities and provided a diplomatic forum involving multiple parties similar, nowadays, to the yearly meeting of the United Nations General Assembly. When French historian Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the modern Olympics in 1894, he shared the vision of fostering peace through athletic competition. However, that didn’t stop German Fuhrer from turning the 1936 Games into a display and promotion of his totalitarian regime and ideology of racial superiority (well highlighted in the propaganda film “Olympia” directed by Leni Riefenstahl), which was later falsified by black athlete Jesse Owens winning four gold medals.
| Jesse Owens of America, in the middle, gives a salute while receiving his gold medal for the long jump on August 11, 1936, with silver medalist Luz Long from Germany on the right and bronze medalist Naoto Tajima from Japan. |
The 1956 Melbourne Games turned out to be unlucky as it collided with the Suez Crisis, which led to withdrawal of Egypt, Iraq, and Lebanon. At the same time the Netherlands, Switzerland and Spain withdrew to show disapproval of Moscow's repression of East European uprisings. Moreover, Beijing decided not to participate for its own reasons, as Taiwan not only participated in the games but also joined the International Olympic Committee that year. Cut to 1964, Tokyo summer Olympics was probably the best example of harnessing soft power for the country’s trade and tourism benefit by hosting a global event with over 100 delegations.
However, the 1972 Munich games were the ones that proved that the reality of war and world politics cannot be escaped, when it became targeted by the Palestinian Black September terror group. The group staged a violent hostage situation right in the heart of the German Olympic Village, resulting in the deaths of 11 Israelis and a West German police officer. The consequences of the Munich tragedy extended beyond sports, as seen in Israeli intelligence agency Mossad's retaliation against the terrorists and their supporters (visual narration by film "Munich" by Steven Spielberg).
The next Olympics in Montreal, some 30 African countries withdrew their participation to protest New Zealand's involvement following their rugby team's visit to apartheid South Africa. After that rejecting the Olympics became a cold war period trend and 1980's Moscow edition turned out to be the most boycotted event in the century when President Carter withdrew the US team in protest against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, followed by 60 other nations. The Los Angeles Games in 1984 met with a similar fate, due to USSR’s and Warsaw Pact countries’’ boycotting of Coca Cola, Mars and IBM sponsored the summer olympics in response to the deployment of "euro-missiles" in Western Europe in 1983.
In 1992, Spain emerged successful in turning the hosting opportunity into a promotional event for boosting its global reputation, tourism and foreign investment. With the 2008 Olympics, China followed Barcelona’s footsteps and announced its emergence as a world power on the global stage.
After witnessing the influence and importance of the International Olympic Committee, the UN granted the IOC a "permanent observer" status in 2009. An ad hoc committee for refugees was also established by IOC in 2015 as a response to a UN General Assembly resolution, which was endorsed by 180 countries and called for a "truce" in all ongoing conflicts before the 2016 Games. This decision was also backed by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The following year, a Refugee Olympic Team competed at the games for the first time.
Tokyo: Yusra Mardini and Tachlowini Gabriyesos, of the Refugee Olympic Team, carry the Olympic flag during the opening ceremony in the Olympic Stadium at the 2020 Summer Olympics
A glimmer of hope came to the view in 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, when athletes from both North and South Korea came and marched together with a unified flag. This was probably the highest standard of diplomacy that the IOC wanted to set and the dream came true. This move not only helped in improving inter-Korean ties but also restarted the dialogue between North Korea and the USA. Though the discussions result in limited tangible outcomes, President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un had their first of multiple summits the same year.
Doping scandals started getting disclosed in the 2010s which gave the US another excuse to put sanctions on Russia and Russian athletes through the 2021 Rodchenkov Act. Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) banned Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing in the 2022 edition. The ban continued in 2024 which prompted Moscow to express its distaste while hosting “BRICS Games” in the northern Russian city of Kazan, with numerous countries participating.
While soured relations between two or more countries always made inroads into the olympic field one way or another, it is important to note that not just foreign relations but the domestic politics sometimes exacerbates the situation. For example, the Japanese public was not so enthusiastic or supportive of hosting the 2020 summer olympics which eventually led to public protests due to cost overruns and surge in cases of covid-19. The 2022 Winter Games hosted by China were also marred by demands for a boycott due to Beijing's treatment of the Uyghur minority group within the country. But perhaps nothing can beat the level of influence that the iconic image of Tommie Smith and John Carlos’ Black Power salute had over the world in 1968. As a powerful statement of defiance, it became a defining moment in the history of the civil rights movement in the US.
An Apolitical Facade?
The International Olympics Committee’s statement that ‘politics has no place in their biennial sporting event’ appears a facade when you look at the nations on which the responsibility of hosting the games has been bestowed throughout history. While the five rings symbolize five continents, it looks like one of the continents never got the chance to throw its hat in the ring. London, Paris, and Los Angeles were each given the opportunity to host a third edition but none of the countries in the African continent ever got the chance to organize even one game, even after constituting a quarter of IOC membership. It seems like not even Olympic spirit could leap the chasm between global north and global south.
India’s bid for global leadership is well reflected in its bidding for the 2036 Summer Olympics. In his Independence Day address from Red Fort this year, Prime Minister Modi declared the ambitions of hosting the Olympics which were supported by the international community as well after witnessing the success of its G2O presidency. The Gujarat government has even established 'Gujarat Olympic Planning and Infrastructure Corporation Ltd' and allotted Rs 6,000 crore to construct six sports complexes for the potential hosting if India successfully secures the bid. If New Delhi’s Olympic dream comes true it will not only boost its tourism and trade industries but also India’s reputation to sit among the high tables of global political institutions.
While we can either appreciate or loathe the political nature of the Olympics, it cannot be ignored.
References:
- Walker, A. (2024, July 18). The Olympics have always been political. POLITICO. https://www.politico.eu/article/paris-summer-olympics-2024-politics-sports/
- CSDS. (2024, July 22). Games of Peace and War: The Olympics and International Politics - CSDS. https://csds.vub.be/publication/games-of-peace-and-war-the-olympics-and-international-politics/
- CFR.org Editors. (2021, December 17). Politics and protest at the Olympics. Council on Foreign Relations. https://www.cfr.org/timeline/olympics-boycott-protest-politics-history
- Jenna Fryer, The Associated Press. (2024, August 12). Subplots of the Paris Olympics became fodder for politicians, and that’s not unusual in history. NBC4 Washington. https://www.nbcwashington.com/paris-2024-summer-olympics/paris-olympics-subplots-politics-history/3692451/
- The Olympics - politics, impact and legacy - it's not just about the sport. (n.d.). The Historical Association. https://www.history.org.uk/primary/resource/10967/the-olympics-politics-impact-and-legacy-its-n
- TheRiseCoIn, D. N. (2022, February 12). The political nature of the Olympics: protests, boycotts and violence at the Games. https://therise.co.in/10310/the-political-nature-of-the-olympics-protests-boycotts-and-violence-at-the-games/
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