"Games that Unite: The Role of Sports in Diplomacy"
On July 12, 2018, the World Affairs Council-Washington, DC hosted a foreign policy panel series event featuring panelists Professor Soolmaz Abooali from George Mason University and Ambassador Lino Gutierrez, executive director of the Una Chapman Cox Foundation. The panel was moderated by Noah Frank, the sports editor at WTOP to discuss both the historical and current impact of sports, and how they affect the relationships between countries.
When Korea beat Germany on June 27th, sending Mexico into the knockout rounds of the World Cup, Mexican fans around the world professed their newfound goodwill towards Korea. Does this affinity transfer to better relations between the countries? Sports can be used as a tool in diplomacy. President Richard Nixon opened relations with China through “ping pong diplomacy.” However, sports and sporting events can also drive a wedge between countries, such as the United States boycott of the 1980 summer Olympics, or the 1964 “soccer wars” between Honduras and El Salvador. To what extent are sports a tool for diplomacy between countries? In what other ways are sports used on the international stage?
8 авг 2024
