Sports as a Soft Power
- Hindu College Gazette Web Team
- Jun 11, 2023
- 7 min read
Credits: The Arab Weekly
The term “Soft Power” emerged in the book "Bound to Lead: The Changing American Nature of Power," written by Joseph Nye. He defines it as the " ability to influence the behaviour of others to get the outcomes you want."It arises from the attractiveness of a country’s culture, political ideas and policies. Unlike hard power, which is coercive in nature, soft power is the use of positive attraction and persuasion to achieve foreign policy goals. Soft power provides numerous benefits to governments, their people, enterprises, and organisations of all sizes. A strong nation brand and positive soft power perceptions enable a country to showcase itself as a place to visit, invest in, and create a reputation for the quality of its goods and services. It also empowers a nation to gain the respect of its neighbours, market its resources, and shape its image on the world stage. Hollywood, MTV and Mcdonalds are a symbol of American Soft Power and how they have shaped the minds of populations across the globe.
Sports has played an important part in the field of diplomacy since the early twentieth century, becoming a major tool of soft power. Sports diplomacy leverages the universal enthusiasm for athletics to bridge linguistic, sociopolitical, and cultural divides, to cross boundaries and encourage discussion, and to expose participants to diverse cultures in order to bring people together. Hosting a large sporting event with worldwide appeal allows countries to showcase themselves, boost their international prestige, and accumulate soft power. The 1936 Berlin Olympics, for instance, presented a new, powerful, and united Germany to the rest of the world. Despite protests from various countries owing to Jewish persecution, the games were a success. Through this, Adolph Hitler sent a message across Europe about the might of Nazi Germany and its emergence as a powerhouse in the region and became an example of utilizing "soft power" to promote and propagate their perspective in front of the entire world. The Nazi Germany effectively advertised the Olympics with eye-catching posters and magazine layouts. Athletic imagery connected Nazi Germany and ancient Greece. These portrayals symbolized the Nazi racial myth that superior German civilization was the rightful heir of an "Aryan" culture of classical antiquity.
Sports and The Cold War
The first instance of heated rivalry in the sporting arena was seen between the two superpowers of the world in the mid-twentieth century, i.e. The United States and The Soviet Union. Any game between them was seen as an ideological war between the Pro- capitalist US and the Pro socialist- USSR. Cold War rivalry and tensions were frequently played out on the sporting field. Sport, like technology and space exploration, provided a venue for rival states to demonstrate or establish their superiority without resorting to conflict. As a result, sports were frequently politicised during the Cold War. There have been a few noteworthy and controversial matches in both the winter and summer Olympics. The basketball final between the United States and the Soviet Union at the 1972 Summer Olympics is regarded as one of the most contentious matches in the history of the sport . The Lake Placid games in 1980 witnessed a "miracle on the ice" in which an inexperienced US hockey team defeated the stronger USSR team at the time.
Until 1992, the last Olympics of the Soviet Union, both superpowers finished in the top two of the medal tallies since the Helsinki Olympics in 1952. Both countries-built world-class facilities and gave compensation to athletes, who broke national or international records. State funding was provided for sports facilities, coaching, and training programmes. For instance, the Soviet Union built around 60000 gymnasia between 1960-1980.
The Soviet Union dominated the world of sports in the cold war, especially in the Olympics, where it topped the medal table 6 times out of 8 Olympics in which it participated. They tried to keep a reputation in the world by being on top in the sports race. They also joined several international athletic federations and became skilled in a variety of sports, including those with a recent Russian past, such as basketball, volleyball, and football.
Credits: Topened Sports
China as a sporting powerhouse
China's emergence as a global force in international sports has coincided with decades of fast economic expansion. Their growth has been linked to their success in the Olympic games and other major international tournaments. China has won 284 gold, 231 silver, and 197 bronze medals in the Olympics since 1996, trailing only the United States in both golds and total medals. They also had the opportunity to host the summer Olympics in 2008, becoming the third Asian country to do so. Unlike other countries, China’s success is a result of a state-driven approach, to increasing athletic achievement through government policies and initiatives. China's General Administration of Sports (GASC) proposed The Olympic Glory-winning Program Guidelines 2001-2010 in 2002, which called for China to place among the top three medal winners at the 2008 Olympics. This plan included "Project 119," a programme targeted at boosting results in disciplines where China has historically performed poorly, such as swimming and rowing. China's centralised model is also financially secure. GASC's budget in 2021 was estimated to be around $1 billion
The 2008 Olympics gave a platform for China's leaders to exhibit their sporting achievements, as well as an opportunity to demonstrate China's national power and support the legitimacy of the Chinese Communist Party. Several new regulations were focused on addressing popular perceptions of China as a source of cheap commodities, environmental problems, and weak governance. As a result, Beijing has made significant investments in cutting-edge construction and infrastructure projects, such as the "Bird's Nest" stadium. It also enlisted the assistance of 400,000 city volunteers and 100,000 game-time volunteers to enhance ties between the Chinese government and the general population. China demonstrated its technological strength and commitment to sustainable energy. On the technological front, the Chinese government has pushed for the Games to feature its own central bank digital currency (CBDC). The "digital yuan” emerged as one of the world's first CBDCs, with the potential to have a big impact on China's financial technology ecosystem. CBDS is a form of digital currency that is issued by a country's central bank. They are similar to cryptocurrencies, except their value is fixed by the central bank and equivalent to the country's fiat currency. It’s an effective way for the central bank to digitalize bank notes and coins in circulation. The Chinese market is already very advanced in cashless payments so the digital yuan would be a way to speed that process up.
While dominating in the summer Olympics, China showed signs of improvement in the 2022 winter Olympics held in Beijing. It is noteworthy that till 2015, many winter sports were unknown in China, whose infrastructure was not developed properly. However, the overall development of China's winter sports demonstrated competitiveness on the Olympic stage, inspiring millions of Chinese citizens to engage in winter sports. The official budget for the 2022 Winter Olympics was $3.9 billion, although estimates indicate that this figure vastly underestimates total spending. According to a study, the actual cost of the 2022 Games might be $38.5 billion when linked infrastructure spending on the Olympic Village, motorways, train lines, and airports is factored in. After the Sochi 2014 Winter Games ($59.7 billion) and the Beijing 2008 Games ($52.7 billion), the Winter 2022 Games would be the third most expensive in history. Beijing has also placed a strong emphasis on sustainable and green infrastructure, with state media reporting that 26 of the Winter Olympics venues will be powered entirely by renewable energy.
Outside of the Olympics, China dominates sports such as badminton and table tennis with athletes such as Lin Dan and Fan Zhendong dominating the respective fields. Since 1982, they have also dominated the Asian games. Despite allegations that Chinese athletes used performance-enhancing drugs, China has established itself as a sporting powerhouse in the 21st century.
Other Countries and India
Other Countries
The success of a country in numerous sports is directly related to its infrastructure and economic development. Countries such as Jamaica have utilized their domination in track and field events in gaining attraction on the world stage, which has positively affected their tourism industry. Edmund Bartlett, the tourism minister of Jamaica said that “sports tourism will become a major part of the deliverables in tourism and an important medium by which we will continue to pursue and promote aggressively.” Many countries continue to use events like the Olympics to draw attention to themselves. Several Latin American and African countries like Argentina, Brazil, Senegal, have marked their identity through football, which has helped them to get the recognition and the platform to establish diplomatic relationships with the world.
India
Sports, global politics, and India's foreign relations are all intertwined since sports is a worldwide cultural and political institution. Together with the growing international order, 'Sport-as-Diplomacy' has developed as an advancement to the sector and is taking the world by storm. India is adjusting to the phrase and attempting to grasp it in a broader sense. The Sports Authority of India is the first and foremost, followed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, or BCCI. Cricket has been considered as a diplomatic tool, with the government using it to either build diplomatic relations with other countries or reduce tensions in the subcontinent. It has always been argued that sports should never be viewed through the lens of politics; the two categories are distinct, but there is evidence that sports and politics were formerly intertwined. Pakistan's President Zia-ul-Haq was invited to a cricket match in Jaipur in 1987 by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Relations between the two counterparts were highly tense at the time, as both nations were conducting military exercises and a red alert was in effect at the borders. The visit aided in the stabilisation of relations between the two countries.
India is emerging as a strong player in this soft power arena, but more attention should be placed on other sports. Cricket is given significant prominence in the country, however other sports must be prioritised. As a result, Khelo India:National Programme for Development of Sports was launched, which aims at improving India's sports culture at the grass-root level through organized talent identification, structured sporting competitions and infrastructure development. It was a Government of India programme launched in 2017 under the tenure Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sports Minister's Vijay Goel and Rajyavardhan Singh Rathor . As a result,India had their most successful Olympic campaign in 2021, winning seven medals, including a gold. It was their first gold medal since the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which drew international attention.
Image Credits: Khelo India
By: Ishaan Banwait
Ishaan Banwait is a 3rd-year student at Hindu College, Delhi University who is also an in-house writer of the Hindu College gazette, published by the symposium society
Reference
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