Sport and diplomacy

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Soft Power ◽  
Public Diplomacy ◽  
Olympic Games ◽  
First Century ◽  
World Cup ◽  
Global Game ◽  
Ping Pong ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Sport Events ◽  
Global Affairs

The purpose of this book is to critically enhance the appreciation of Diplomacy and Sport in global affairs from the perspective of practitioners and scholars. The book will make an important new contribution to at least two distinct fields: 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, and is supported by a wide range of sources and methodologies. The book draws in a range of scholars across these different fields, and includes esteemed FIFA scholar Prof. Alan Tomlinson. Tomlinson addresses diplomacy within the world’s global game of Association Football, while other subjects include the rise of Mega Sport Events (MSE) as sites of diplomacy, new consideration of Chinese Ping-Pong Diplomacy prior to the 1970s, the importance of boycotts in sport – particularly in relation to newly explored dimensions of the boycotts of the 1980 and 1984 Olympic Games. The place of non-state actors is explored throughout, be they individual or institutions they perform a crucial role as conduits of the transactions of sport and diplomacy Based on twentieth and twenty-first century evidence, the book acknowledges the antecedents from the ancient Olympics to the contemporary era and in its conclusions offers avenues for further study based on the future Sport and Diplomacy relationship. The book has strong international basis because 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 also contribute to the global interest in this volume.

8. The twenty-first century and smart power

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph S. Nye
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
Public Diplomacy ◽  
Information Age ◽  
Us Foreign Policy ◽  
First Century ◽  
Global Information ◽  
Smart Power ◽  
Twenty First Century

This chapter examines US foreign policy as ‘smart power’, a combnation of hard and soft power, in the twenty-first century. The beginning of the twenty-first century saw George W. Bush place a strong emphasis on hard power, as exemplifed by the invasion and occupation of Iraq. This was evident after 9/11. While the war in Iraq showcased America’s hard military power that removed a tyrant, it failed to resolve US vulnerability to terrorism; on the contrary, it may have increased it. The chapter first considers the Obama administration’s reference to its foreign policy as ‘smart power’ before discussing Donald Trump’s ‘America First’ policy, the role of power in a global information age, soft power in US foreign policy, and how public diplomacy has been incorporated into US foreign policy.

scholarly journals India’s Public Diplomacy in the Twenty-First Century: Components, Objectives and Challenges

2020 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-39
Author(s):  
Arijit Mazumdar
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
Public Diplomacy ◽  
Nation Branding ◽  
First Century ◽  
International Exchange ◽  
International Broadcasting ◽  
Policy Goals ◽  
Twenty First Century ◽  
Rising Power

In recent years, several countries have made sustained efforts to project their ‘soft power’ abroad. Public diplomacy has been an important tool for this purpose. Public diplomacy involves activities usually undertaken by a national government to inform and influence foreign public opinion and attitudes in order to advance its foreign policy goals. Such activities include ‘nation-branding’, diaspora outreach, digital engagement, international broadcasting, and international exchange programmes, all of which are designed to promote a positive image and reputation of the country to a global audience. This paper discusses the role of public diplomacy in the service of India’s foreign policy goals during the twenty-first century. The practice of public diplomacy helps the country achieve two significant objectives. First, it helps allay any active or dormant fears within the international community about India as a rising power. Second, it helps India compete with other countries as it seeks to boost foreign tourist arrivals, attract foreign investment and secure new markets for its exports in an era of globalisation. This paper also briefly discusses some of the challenges associated with India’s use of public diplomacy.

Analysing India’s Soft Power Functioning in the Twenty-first Century: Possibilities and Challenges

2017 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 292-311
Author(s):  
Shrey Khanna ◽  
P. Moorthy
Keyword(s):  
Soft Power ◽  
Public Diplomacy ◽  
Linguistic Diversity ◽  
First Century ◽  
Smart Power ◽  
Disaster Relief Operations ◽  
Concomitant Boost ◽  
Twenty First Century ◽  
Relief Operations ◽  
2004 Tsunami

The first decade of the twenty-first century saw the chants of the rise of an Indian superpower. These claims of the twenty-first century as India’s century were not only based on the massive economic growth that the country saw in the post-1991 liberalisation period, and the concomitant boost in military infrastructure, but also by virtue of its having the biggest functional democracy, an influential multi-million plus diaspora, the sway of Bollywood in the region and abroad and the spectacular religious-linguistic diversity of the country. From conducting mega disaster-relief operations during the 2004 tsunami to effectuating the world’s largest civil evacuation during Operation Rahat, India has ceaselessly augmented its soft power potential to project its national power in the region. This article is an attempt to analyse the possibilities and challenges that India faces in the effective functioning of its soft power in the region. It also remarks as to how India’s soft power limitations can be quashed by integrating a smart power approach in its foreign policy by strengthening existent digital and public diplomacy infrastructure.

Public Diplomacy in Confl ict Zones:Military Information Operations Meet Political Counter-Insurgency

2008 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 277-297 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evan Potter ◽  
Daryl Copeland
Keyword(s):  
Soft Power ◽  
Public Diplomacy ◽  
First Century ◽  
Hard Power ◽  
Information Operations ◽  
Twenty First Century ◽  
Foreign Ministries ◽  
Made In

AbstractThe case made in this article is threefold: that the resolution of conflicts in the twenty-first century will depend much more on the judicious use of soft rather than hard power; that the type of soft power exercised through public diplomacy will move increasingly from monologue to dialogue and collaboration; and that there is an increasing convergence of thinking both in defence departments and foreign ministries on the role of public diplomacy in resolving conflict in asymmetrical warfare. That convergence is expressed in this article's characterization of the 'guerrilla diplomat'.

scholarly journals Does Public Diplomacy Sway Foreign Public Opinion? Identifying the Effect of High-Level Visits

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
BENJAMIN E. GOLDSMITH ◽  
YUSAKU HORIUCHI ◽  
KELLY MATUSH
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
News Media ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
Public Diplomacy ◽  
Major Type ◽  
Host Countries ◽  
Military Capability ◽  
National Leaders ◽  
Global Affairs ◽  
High Level

Although many governments invest significant resources in public-diplomacy campaigns, there is little well-identified evidence of these efforts’ effectiveness. We examine the effects of a major type of public diplomacy: high-level visits by national leaders to other countries. We combine a dataset of the international travels of 15 leaders from 9 countries over 11 years, with worldwide surveys administered in 38 host countries. By comparing 32,456 respondents interviewed just before or just after the first day of each visit, we show that visiting leaders can increase public approval among foreign citizens. The effects do not fade away immediately and are particularly large when public-diplomacy activities are reported by the news media. In most cases, military capability differentials between visiting and host countries do not appear to confer an advantage in the influence of public diplomacy. These findings suggest that public diplomacy has the potential to shape global affairs through soft power.

Soft Power: Hwang and Tesori’s reappropriation of The King and I in representing twenty-first-century diplomacy and the dystopic reality of contemporary America

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 269-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arnab Banerji
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
Public Diplomacy ◽  
First Century ◽  
The Past ◽  
David Henry Hwang ◽  
Twenty First Century ◽  
Asian Stereotypes

This article reviews David Henry Hwang and Jeanine Tesori’s Soft Power. In this ‘play with a musical’, Hwang and Tesori revisit Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The King and I to critique its Asian stereotypes. The genre-bending form is, however, much more than a simple retelling of a flawed musical of the past. As the article demonstrates, the writers question China’s attempts at public diplomacy and its efforts to acquire soft power vis a vis its dismal human rights records. The play does so by not merely reversing the narrative of The King and I but by offering a nuanced take on twenty-first-century politics. In doing so, the writers create a scathing portrayal of American reality set against a backdrop of contemporary events.

scholarly journals ‘Russia isn’t a country of Putins!’: How RT bridged the credibility gap in Russian public diplomacy during the 2018 FIFA World Cup

2021 ◽  
pp. 136914812110137
Author(s):  
Rhys Crilley ◽  
Marie Gillespie ◽  
Vitaly Kazakov ◽  
Alistair Willis
Keyword(s):  
Soft Power ◽  
Public Diplomacy ◽  
World Cup ◽  
Fifa World Cup ◽  
Focus Group Research ◽  
Group Research ◽  
Russian State ◽  
International Reputation ◽  
Power Effect ◽  
Credibility Gap

In the context of deteriorating relations with ‘Western’ states, Russia’s state-funded international broadcasters are often understood as malign propaganda rather than as agents of soft power. Subsequently, there is a major credibility gap between how Russian state media represents itself to the world and how it is actually perceived by overseas publics. However, based on the study of RT’s coverage of the Russian hosted FIFA 2018 World Cup and the audience reactions this prompted, we find that this credibility gap was partially bridged. By analysing over 700 articles published by RT, alongside social media and focus group research, we find that RT’s World Cup coverage created an unusually positive vision of Russia that appealed to international audiences. Our study demonstrates how state-funded international broadcaster coverage of sports mega-events can generate a soft power effect with audiences, even when the host state – such as Russia – has a poor international reputation.

Habits Do Not Die Easily: The Economics of Table Soccer

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincenzo Alfano ◽  
Salvatore Capasso
Keyword(s):  
Habit Formation ◽  
Olympic Games ◽  
First Century ◽  
International Level ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
World Cup ◽  
Mean Values ◽  
Twenty First Century ◽  
International Table

Abstract We attempt to test the importance of rules and cultural sedimentation on performance by analyzing what occurs in a niche sport, table soccer and inferring by extension the weight of habit formation in a more general productivity setting. This matters since firms increasingly employ workers of different cultural backgrounds, whose interplay may have an impact on performance. Our idea is to examine the differences that exist between local and international rules in a country such as Italy and find out whether athletes’ performance is affected when they compete at international level. Adapting models adopted by the literature to forecast the success in soccer and Olympic games, we study the performances of Italians and Non-Italians athletes in the International Table Soccer World Cup. We also apply an Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition to account for explained and un-explained gaps in mean values. The results seem to confirm that globalization does not affect cultural sedimentation: local habits persist and hamper the performance of top players. Local habits matter, and habits do not die easily, even in the twenty-first century.

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