Scholarship and Sports Diplomacy: the Cases of Japan and the United Kingdom

This article explores scholarship regarding diplomatic processes and actors engaged in recent international sport events hosted by the United Kingdom and Japan. The article points to the range of actors involved, focusing on organizing committees, and assesses the effectiveness of sports diplomacy at a range of levels that go beyond a focus on the state. It uses international sport events documentation, global media archives, and public and private comments related to the United Kingdom and Japan. The article addresses three key issues: 1) Olympic-dominant discourse: the dominance and shift in process between hosting an Olympic Games and onto other events; 2) Western-dominant discourse: the differences between Japan and the UK in demonstrating distinct “East” and “West” sports diplomacy approaches; 3) State-dominant discourse: the role of knowledge exchange and elite networks that transcend the state and involve a range of different actors, such as the organizing committee.

Sports diplomacy as a modern means of solving international problems

Problem setting.. The scientific article is devoted to the issues of considering the peculiarities of one of the types of public diplomacy - sports diplomacy both in historical retrospect and in terms of current achievements. The authors try to analyze the historical stages of development of sports diplomacy, the essence of this concept and other names of "sports diplomacy", namely "cricket diplomacy", "ping-pong diplomacy", "basketball diplomacy" and so on. This chapter states that public diplomacy is an integral part of the state's strategic communications, and its function is to establish a state-to-human dialogue, taking into account the diversity of national and global audiences, and to promote human-to-human interpersonal contacts. At the same time, one of the components of achieving the desired result in the field of international relations by peaceful means is sports diplomacy. In addition, the term sports diplomacy is actively used by many modern international organizations (International Olympic Committee (IOC), International Football Association (FIFA), International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC), etc.) to establish relations. Analysis of recent researches and publications. This topic occupied an important place in the works of such scientists as N. Litvinenko, V. Shchetkina, S. Martynenko, S. Kulik, Yu. Filippova, I. Gridina, N. Bogolyubova, S. Murey, Yu. Nikolaeva, G. Malone, I. Kant, V. Telipko, A. Ovcharenko, D. Feldman, H. Dzhantayev. Target of research. The scientific article states the following purpose: 1) coverage of the history of the formation and essence of sports diplomacy; 2) definition of the main forms of sports diplomacy, their advantages and practical application; 3) highlighting the shortcomings of sports diplomacy and prospects for their solution and improvement of this type of diplomatic activity. Article`s main body. The article reveals the forms of this diplomacy in the following important aspects: diplomacy of sports competitions; diplomacy of sports organizations; sport as a means to achieve foreign policy goals. Also, the negative side of sports diplomacy is reflected, such as its shortcomings such as fierce competition, neglect of friendly relations between countries, commercialization of this area and so on. The authors propose measures to improve the current situation and improve this type of diplomacy. Conclusions and prospects for the development. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of solving acute problems that exist in sports diplomacy for the further development of international communication between the countries.

THE ROLE OF THE 18TH ASIAN GAME IN THE PEACE OF THE KOREAN PENINSULA

This journal examines the role of the 18th Asia Game as a diplomatic tool in the Korean peninsula conflict in 2018, specifically in promoting peace on the Korean Peninsula. This journal aims to describe and analyze the effectiveness of sports or Olympics affiliated with the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) as a unifying tool in pushing for reunification opportunities on the Korean Peninsula. The 18th Asian Games, on the other hand, has played an essential role in uniting North and South Korea into one unit under the same flag in a variety of ways that have had a positive impact on peace between the two countries. This study employs qualitative research methods, such as literature review and triangulation, to collect data. A descriptive-analytical approach was used to collect and analyze data. This study's analysis employs sports diplomacy theory to examine the effectiveness of sports in resolving conflicts on the Korean Peninsula. Because the current state of the Korean peninsula has not entirely resulted in the ideals of the two countries' reunification, the theory of sports diplomacy can identify the factors that support the reduced intensity of the Korean Peninsula's cold war. One of the factors is the role of sport as a tool of sports diplomacy, which has increased opportunities for promoting peace and conflict resolution to reach a peace agreement between the two parties and eventually lead to reunification.

Soft Power and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar

A growing body of literature recognizes the significance of soft power in Qatar's foreign policy. There is, however, limited research on the long-term impact that occurs from the over-dependency on the soft power. The popular rhetoric in most literature expresses that Qatar uses its soft power, often in the form of sports diplomacy, to meet its foreign policy objectives. The review paper attempts to identify to what extent the 2022 World Cup can be understood from the soft power perspective, and the role it plays in Qatar's foreign policy formulation and implementation, as well as the significance of soft power in comprehending Qatar's mega investments in the sporting sector. The first section elaborates into sport diplomacy functions and its origins. The second section elaborates on Qatar's involvement with International Sports. The third and arguably the most important section deals with soft power and sports diplomacy. The paper offers an up-to-date review of current studies about Qatar's international strategy for sport, whether for investment and diversification of state revenues or political and policy diplomacy motifs.

Sport and International Relations: Qatari Soft Power and Foreign Policy Making

Sport plays a significant role in politics and international relations. However, the relationship between soft power and hosting a sports mega-event such as the Olympic Games, or the FIFA world cup is unclear. Most literature that has examined the role of sport in Qatari soft power adheres to the Realist School of international relations theory. It has tended to emphasize the size of the country in understanding what motivates its engagement in sports diplomacy. This paper attempts to move beyond this realist analysis of soft power by drawing on the post-structuralist –interpretive approach and discourse theory. This perspective better accounts for how sports diplomacy is used in different cultural contexts. In arguing that Qatar represents particular cultural and historical traditions, and sports define the country’s distinct political identity, the paper looks at how Qatar has exercised soft power through sports diplomacy and hosting major international sports events. The paper will analyze formal state discourses surrounding Qatar’s decision to host FIFA World Cup 2022, and we discuss how this use of sports diplomacy is helping achieve several Qatari foreign policy goals.

Sports diplomacy of the Republic of Moldova: forms and specificity of manifestation

This article examines the effectiveness of high performance sports as a tool for establishing and strengthening cooperation between the Republic of Moldova and other states, by creating a positive image and forming relations that official diplomacy is not able to carry out. In this regard, the experience of using sports diplomacy in the establishment of bilateral relations, as well as the solution of interstate, interethnic conflicts in the post-Soviet space is analyzed. In particular, the role of "football diplomacy" in resuming the negotiation process between Chisinau and Tiraspol, creating conditions conducive to resolving the long-term conflict is considered. In addition, football competitions between the embassies accredited in the Republic of Moldova, as well as the participation of Moldovan diplomatic missions in similar competitions abroad, play an important role in shaping the positive image of our country in the international arena. An essential factor of "soft power" is sports dances and the success of Moldovan athletes at international venues.

Sports Diplomacy Research in Poland, Czechia and Slovakia. Emerging Field of Study?

Sport is a complex phenomenon that academics across many social sciences are focusing on. The interest in sports has been observable for a long time by historians, anthropologists and sociologists. Scientists in the field of international relations are no exception. A typical way sport is studied in international relations is by paying attention to sports diplomacy. The study of sports diplomacy has become a pretty popular part of the research since the second decade of the 21st century and it is possible to observe the dominance of the authors from the American and British universities in sports diplomacy research. Based on the Web of Science dataset, at first sight, the study of sports diplomacy is not seen as a popular field of research in the Central European countries. On the other hand, this statistical measure does not describe a complex situation of what the sports diplomacy research looks like, how it is formed or how it reflects the thinking of the politicians on national public/sports diplomacy. Thus, the article aims to map sports diplomacy research in the Central European states, specifically in Poland, Czechia and Slovakia.

Sports Diplomacy and Gender: Equal Opportunities for Women in Czech Basketball

The article focuses on the role of equal opportunities and gender in the sports environment, examining their impacts on the creation and functioning of sports diplomacy. Subsequently, in the form of a case study it first concentrates on the Czech sports environment and women’s representation in international and national sports federations. In the final part, it examines the basketball environment and analyses its individual structures. Women are not sufficiently represented as coaches, referees or officials. Several main challenges are mentioned: the perception of sport as a predominantly male phenomenon, the overall society setting fixed on traditional perceptions of the role of women and men in the Czech Republic, a small number of suitable female sports models, the time-consuming character of the activities, gender stereotypes at work, the absence of suitable conditions for reconciling family and work life and the low self-confidence of female candidates. The article concludes that the Czech sports environment (including basketball) is markedly masculine, and women face a number of barriers, which in practice are reflected in the Czech Republic’s representation in international sport organisations and the way in which sports diplomacy is used as a foreign policy tool.