The Commonwealth Games as an Example of Bringing States Closer Through Sport

Michał Marcin Kobierecki, University of Lodz, Poland, degruyter.com

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Excerpt:

Introduction

The political significance of sport has long been investigated by researchers representing various fields of science. However, the issue of sports diplomacy is relatively new in scientific research. The term itself is understood differently by various authors. It may be perceived as both the utilization of sport for the sake of rapprochement between states, and the exercise of sports contacts as a tool for maintaining international conflicts. These two types of sports diplomacy may sometimes be called positive and negative, respectively, but both of them use sport to foster the foreign policy objectives of states. Moreover, sports diplomacy can be perceived as part of public diplomacy, and therefore may be used as a soft power resource to create the desired image of a country.

The aim of this article is to investigate one of the forms of positive sports diplomacy. ...