Sporting events such as the Olympics or the FIFA World Cup never fail to capture the world’s attention, no matter what other international events are going on. Governments have noticed sports as a global attention-getter and for decades have been using sports as a means to achieve higher global standing or other foreign policy objectives. In this episode, we discuss soft power in the form of “sports diplomacy.”

Dig Deeper

* “The Mixed Record of Sports Diplomacy.” Council on Foreign Relations. https://www.cfr.org/interview/mixed-record-sports-diplomacy* “Thing Again: Soft Power.” Foreign Policy. https://foreignpolicy.com/2006/02/23/think-again-soft-power/* “Soft Power and the Public Diplomacy Revisited.” The Hague Journal of Diplomacy. https://www.hks.harvard.edu/publications/soft-power-and-public-diplomacy-revisited

Featured photo by Tim Hipps, FMWRC Public Affairs