Events and Politics offer students a cutting-edge, intellectually stimulating, and accessible exploration of the deeply intertwined relationship between events and political power.
The book includes 30 chapters from global academics, structured around theoretical and practical considerations based on real life events such as the Olympic Games and Dinard’s Festival of British Cinema, managerial and policy implications and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Covering broad themes such as soft power, propaganda, sports washing, human rights, and governance, the book provides a comprehensive framework for understanding the political dimensions of events. Through historical analysis, case studies, and theoretical insights, authors challenge the notion of events as neutral spaces, highlighting how stakeholder interests, geopolitical ambitions, and governance structures influence bidding, planning, and legacy outcomes.
With chapter aims, quizzes and debate questions, this highly engaging and comprehensive book is essential reading and teaching resource for all students and lecturers of Events Studies, as well as policy makers in the events industry.
Events and Politics offer students a cutting-edge, intellectually stimulating, and accessible exploration of the deeply intertwined relationship between major events and political power.
Arvustused
"This state-of-the-art collection brings together key researchers in events and politics. Discussing highly relevant topics, such as soft power, international relations, activism, corruption, and governance, this offering will be an important resource for graduate students and researchers alike."
Prof. Milena M. Parent, Telfer School of Management and School of Human Kinetics, University of Ottawa; Director, Executive Masters in Sport Organisation Management, English program.
"This is an important and timely collection that brings together a diverse range of perspectives on the connections between events and politics. Understanding the politics of events will only become more vital in our turbulent times. Because it includes a mixture of historical and contemporary cases, this book will be valued by researchers and students who want to get a sense of the bigger picture issues in events research."
Dr James Kennell, Head of Surrey Hospitality and Tourism Management, University of Surrey, UK.
"This edited collection makes a timely contribution to the field, bringing together a range of leading researchers to how events are implicated in geopolitical processes. I particularly liked the books coverage, including chapters on soft power, sport event diplomacy, sport washing, activism, and political power. This book will be an important reference point for researchers and students looking to understand more about how events are political and politicised, providing a platform for some actors to promote their political agendas, while also allowing others to contest it. The geographical coverage of the chapters also means that the book will be of interest to scholars across the world."
Prof David McGillivray, Professor of Event and Digital Cultures, Centre of Culture, Sport and Events, University of the West of Scotland, UK.
This timely and thought-provoking collection critically examines the political dimensions, on and off the field of play, of major events, including the increasingly important soft power benefits that hosting successful events can bring to the host nation or city. As we seek to harness the collective experience and unifying power of events, the multi-faceted political dimensions at play can enhance or work against that aim for unity and cohesion. Spanning sport, arts and culture, this collection will be of interest to those both looking at the history of events past, and considering the place that events could play in future.
Ruth Hollis OBE, Chief Executive, Spirit of 2012.
Foreword
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Section 1 Soft Power and Propaganda
Chapter 1: The 1936 Berlin Olympics: Propaganda, Spectacle, and the Politics
of Sport.
Gjoko Muratovski, Deakin University, USA.
Chapter 2: How (Should?) the Olympics (Intentionally) Transform Society?
Tim Elcombe, Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada.
Chapter 3: All the Olympics are a stage, and all the athletes merely players:
the Olympics as theatre.
Timothy Olds, University of South Australia, Australia.
Section 2 Sports Washing and Rights
Chapter 4: The Olympic industry: a threat to human rights, a threat to
democracy.
Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, University of Toronto, Canada.
Chapter 5: The World Cup put the spotlight on Qatar, but also brought
attention to its human rights record and politics.
David Mednicoff, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, USA.
Chapter 6: The Paralympic Games: an event having impact on the world stage
but one not without its critics.
Simon Darcy, University of Technology Sydney, Australia.
David Legg, Mount Royal University, Canada.
Chapter 7: Sportswashing - Manging state relations and reputations through
associations with sport.
Michael Skey, Loughborough University, UK.
Section 3 Diplomacy and Peace
Chapter 8: Playbook for Peace? How World Events Disconnected Putin and Set a
Precedence for Isolating Autocratic Regimes.
Mike Duignan, University of Paris 1 (Pantheon-Sorbonne), France.
Chapter 9: Russias misfired sport diplomacy? Or our misunderstanding of the
2014 (Winter Olympics) and 2018 (FIFA World Cup) sports mega-events?
Jonathan Grix, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK.
Chapter 10: CONIFA events: organizing international football tournaments for
unrecognized nations on divided lands.
Joel Rookwood, University College Dublin, Ireland.
Chapter 11: Ancient Ideals, Modern Problems: Pierre de Coubertin and the
Olympic Games.
Peter J. Miller, University of Winnipeg, USA.
Chapter 12: Wimbledon 2022 and the Politics of Exclusion: Sport, Sanctions,
and Governance in a Geopolitical Crisis
Leon Davis, Teeside University, UK.
Mike Duignan, University of Paris 1 (Pantheon-Sorbonne), France.
Chapter 13: The Politics of Film Festivals: The Case of Dinards Festival of
British Cinema.
Neil Archer, Keele University, UK.
Chapter 14: Global Games: a radical proposal for a sustainable future.
Adam Talbot, University of the West of Scotland, UK.
Stephen J. Mills, University of the West of Scotland, UK.
Section 4 Activism and Events as Platforms for Protest
Chapter 15: The Politics of Sydneys Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras
Leigh Boucher, Macquarie University, Australia.
Michelle Arrow, Macquarie University, Australia.
Chapter 16: Athlete activism and the Olympic movement: resistance, defiance,
and restraint.
Michelle OShea, Western Sydney University, Australia.
Chris Yorke, University of Technology Sydney, Australia.
Hazel Maxwell, University of Technology Sydney, Australia.
Chapter 17: FIFAs World Cup: A mirage of unity
Daryl Adair, University of Technology Sydney, Australia.
Chapter 18: Boycotting the Olympic Games: Effective Policy Tool or Futile
Gesture?
Ryan Gauthier, Thompson Rivers University, Canada.
Chapter 19: The Olympics are democratically illegitimate: a call for
democracy in sport.
Jean-Paul Gagnon, Canberra University, Australia.
Thomas D. Bunting, Shawnee State University,
Ferdinand Sanchez II, Canberra University, Australia.
Chapter 20: Black Lives Matter Protests Changed the US Landscape and Who Is
Represented in Public Spaces.
Shannon Smith, St. Johns University, USA.
Section 5 Power, Corruption, and Elitism
Chapter 21: The 2022 FIFA World Cup and its potential anti-corruption
legacy.
Christina Philippou, University of Portsmouth, UK.
Chapter 22: Ancient Athletic Contests and Greek Culture.
Joel Christensen, Brandeis University, USA.
Chapter 23: China and Sport Mega Events: An Ongoing Project.
Alan Bairner, Loughborough University, UK.
Chapter 24: Fan parks at football mega-events: prioritizing security and
improving the fan experience.
Joel Rookwood, University College Dublin, UK.
Chapter 25: Fundamental challenging considerations in hosting sporting
mega-events
Bryan C. Clift, Andrew Manley, and Lanfei Wang, University of Bath
Chapter 26: Ensuring Safety and Security at Sporting Events: Lessons from the
2022 Champions League Final in Paris
Daniel Silverstone, Liverpool John Moores University, UK
Jan Andre Lee Ludvigsen, Liverpool John Moores University, UK
Section 6 Nationalism and Historical Perspectives
Chapter 27: Curating a Contemporary Dance Festival in Africa: Socio-Political
Insights and Provocations from South Africa.
Liliane Loots, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
Chapter 28: How The Dragon of Shandon celebrates people, place, and culture
on Halloween.
Tony Matthews, Griffith University, Australia.
Deanna Grant-Smith, Queensland University of Technology, Australia.
Chapter 29: The New Olympics: How Tokyo Helped Reshape the Games.
Sam Duncan, Homesglen Institute, Australia.
Chapter 30: The Australian Open: An event that has grown alongside a nation.
Hunter Fujak, Deakin University, Australia.
Scott Field, Deakin University, Australia.
Chapter 31: Goodbye Commonwealth Games
Tom Heenan, Monash University, Australia.
Conclusion and recommendations
Index
Mike Duignan is a Professeur at the Sorbonne, University of Paris 1 (Pantheon-Sorbonne) and Editor-in-Chief of Event Management Journal. Formerly, he was an Associate Professor and Department Chair of the Department of Events at the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at the University of Surrey, where he was also the Director of the Observatory for Human Rights and Major Events. For the past 15 years, Mike has been researching, analysing, commentating, writing, publishing, and teaching on the economics and social impacts of staging major events.
