Specialists in the geopolitics of sport, Lukas Aubin and Jean-Baptiste Guégan are respectively research director at the Institute of International and Strategic Relations, and teacher at Sciences Po Paris. They just published The Sports War. A new geopolitics (Tallandier, 336 pages, 20.90 euros).
You write that sport has become a major geopolitical issue. Wasn’t this already the case during the Cold War?
Lukas Aubin : The geopolitics of sport was obviously not born ten years ago or with the fall of the Soviet Union. Already in Antiquity, Greek cities participated in the Panhellenic Games to measure their power through sport. But it was much later, at the beginning of the 19th century, that modern sport as we know it was born, in Great Britain. During the Cold War, it was an instrument used by the Eastern and Western blocs. Since the fall of the USSR, things have changed. Today, new players are emerging: Qatar, Saudi Arabia, China, Russia (heir to the Soviet Union), India, Morocco, etc. We are witnessing a balancing of the geopolitics of sport. From a unipolar, rather Western world of sport, we have moved to a multipolar model which is becoming de-Westernized. We are talking about a “new geopolitics” of sport, because the latter has never been so powerful as it is today. The proof is that everyone wants to participate.
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Jean-Baptiste Guégan: We must remember that it was the USSR which won the sports war, not the United States, when we actually look at the medal rankings. The narrative, on the other hand, was often written by the Americans. But they didn’t win and, when they win, it’s the exception.
You affirm that sport is a weapon in the service of States. Do you have any recent examples of this sports diplomacy?
J.-B. G. When a country organizes a sporting event, it showcases its international relations. Look at the example of Qatar and Saudi Arabia: three years before the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Riyadh tried to overthrow the Emir of Qatar, Tamim Ben Hamad Al Thani. And who is the guest of honor at the opening of the World Cup? Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Ben Salman. The reconciliation between the two men was staged. Another example with Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin. Russia suspended from Beijing Winter Games in 2022 [sanctionnée pour dopage d’Etat]. However, Putin is invited by the Chinese president. A way for Xi Jinping to say: “I am the one who decides the world order. »
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2024-06-03 04:00:13
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