Posted By Stephen M. Walt
Monday, August 17, 2009 - 6:04 PM
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I don't know how many people subscribe to both Foreign Policy and Sports Illustrated, but I do know lots of people who take athletics seriously. Human beings seem to be hard-wired into making "in-group/out-group" distinctions, so it's not surprising that the loyalty that sports fans show for their favorite teams looks a lot like the broader phenomenon of nationalism. And I'm not saying that just because I'm a proud member of Red Sox Nation.
Success in sports can be the first step toward a successful political career (e.g., Bill Bradley, Sebastian Coe, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jack Kemp, etc.) and athletes like Pele, Michael Jordan, and Tiger Woods have become genuine global icons. Of course, using sports to demonstrate national prowess or as a source of national pride is a common practice. The revival of the Olympic games in the 1890s was at least partly intended to promote international cooperation and understanding, but as a good realist would expect, the Games eventually became yet another arena where states could try to demonstrate the superiority of their own system and enhance their global influence.
Anyway, as summer winds down and the fall term looms, I found myself wondering about various episodes where sporting events actually had an effect on world politics, or told us something about how the world was changing. Here's my list of ten key moments, in no particular order.
1. The Berlin Olympics, 1936.
Adolf Hitler uses the Olympic Games to highlight the superiority of the Nazi regime, but his efforts are at least partly undermined when a black American, Jesse Owens, wins four gold medals.
2. La Guerra de futbol (aka “Soccer War”): El Salvador vs. Honduras, 1969.
Here’s a case where sports may have helped cause a war: a hard-fought match between El Salvador and Honduras in a preliminary round for the 1970 FIFA World Cup exacerbated the existing tensions between the two states and helped spark a brief four-day war in which over 1000 people died. The war ended inconclusively and El Salvador eventually won the actual match, but was ousted in a subsequent round and did not make the finals.
3. "Ping Pong Diplomacy:" U.S. Table Tennis Team Visits China, 1971.
During the world championships in Japan, the U.S. table tennis team received an unexpected invitation to visit China, and shortly thereafter became the first group of Americans to visit China since the communist takeover in 1949. The "ping heard 'round the world" was the first tangible sign of normalization between the United States and China (even though the Chinese teams reportedly had to throw a few matches to the Americans). The visit was obviously not the cause of the subsequent rapprochement, but it shows how sporting events can be an effective diplomatic tool.
4. U.S. Women Win Soccer World Cup, 1999.
I see this as significant for two main reasons. First, it underscores the growing importance and legitimacy of women’s sports, which has been an important element in modern feminism. Second, it shows the United States finally demonstrating real prowess in the world's most popular sport. Plus, the final game was against China, which makes it a nice harbinger of 21st century geopolitics.
5. Black September at the Munich Olympics, 1972:
Palestinian terrorists seized and eventually killed eleven Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympic Games. The heinous act sets back Palestinian national aspirations and triggers a protracted Israeli reprisal campaign that assassinated a number of Palestinian leaders and at least one innocent victim.
6. South Africa Wins Rugby World Cup, 1995.
South African teams were barred from most international competitions during the apartheid era, a step that highlighted the regime’s pariah status and helped undermine popular support for the policy. The post-apartheid team’s victory in 1995 was a vivid symbol of South Africa’s new beginning, symbolized when President Nelson Mandela awarded the victor’s trophy to team captain Francois Pinear, a white Afrikaner.
7. Australia II Wins America’s Cup, 1983.
The Aussie victory broke what was probably the longest winning streak in the history of sports -- 132 years of dominance that began when the schooner America outpaced a British flotilla in a race around the Isle of Wight in 1851. (When she asked who had finished second, Queen Victoria was reportedly told "Your Majesty, there is no second.”). In retrospect, one could see the Australian victory as a symptom of globalization: cutting-edge yacht design wasn’t an American monopoly any longer. Since then, alas, the competition has been driven by another American export: gamesmanship and ceaseless litigation over the rules of the competition.
8. The "Miracle on Ice": the U.S. Olympic Ice Hockey Team Defeats the Soviet National Team, 1980.
Labeled the greatest sports moment of the 20th century by Sports Illustrated, the improbable defeat of a heavily-favored Soviet team by a group of U.S. college players arrived at a moment when many Americans mistakenly felt the Soviet Union was pulling ahead. In fact, the USSR was on its last legs, though its hockey establishment remained a powerhouse and eventually sent a lot of players to the NHL.
9. “Das Wunder von Berne:” Germany Wins World Cup, 1954.
An underdog German team defeated Hungary in the final in Berne, a win that set off a wave of euphoria in Germany and is seen by some historians as a key event that restored a sense of national pride after the shame of the Nazi era and helped signal Germany’s re-integration in the world community.
10. Pentathlete Boris Onischenko Disqualified at Montreal Olympics, 1976.
I was on the fencing team in college, so I can’t resist adding this to my list. Onischenko was a member of the Soviet modern pentathlon team who was disqualified after referees discovered that his sword had been modified to enable him to register “hits” on the electronic scoring machine by pressing a switch concealed in his grip. Together with the East German steroid scandal, such episodes helped undermine the image of the Soviet empire. Plenty of other athletes have cheated, of course -- think of sprinters Ben Johnson and Marion Jones, bicyclist Floyd Landis, and subway-riding “marathoner” Rosie Ruiz -- but their transgressions had less impact absent the Cold War atmosphere.
There are other examples one might add: Budge versus von Cramm at Wimbledon, the controversial Soviet "defeat" of the U.S. men's basketball team at Munich, or the notorious Soviet-Hungary water polo match at the 1956 Olympics (played in the shadow of the Hungarian Revolution, the game was so violent the water reportedly turned pink). So please feel free to contribute your own suggestions.
IOC Olympic Museum /Allsport
How about the US boycott of the 1980 Olympics over the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (and the subsequent Soviet boycott of the LA Olympics)? In a way, it demonstrated both the symbolism attached to these events and the limits of such actions to change the behavior of big, powerful states.
Soccer's effect on African politics
You did miss two important events: the cease-fire in Ivory Coast between the government and rebel factions so they could cheer on the national team in the FIFA World Cup in 2006 (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13274683/), and a 48-hour cease fire during the Nigerian Civil War in 1967 to watch Pele display his skills (http://www.aim.org/briefing/a-novices-abridged-guide-to-the-world-cup/).
The 1960 and 1964 Olympics were crucial milestones on the road to reinstatement of former Axis powers to the free world. The 1968 Olympics reflected the political turmoil in the United States at that time. The 1984 Olympics, funded more from private sources than any before it, heralded a new age of corporate dominance of sport. The 2008 Olympics was, and was intended to be, an emphatic political statement by the new Chinese superpower.
Sporting events other than the Olympics tend either to attract purely national audiences or involve competition between national teams representing countries with no major issues in dispute between them. It is probably a good thing that a soccer match between Sweden and Brazil or an NFL playoff game is never likely to have major political repercussions.
Plenty of other athletes have cheated, of course -- think of sprinters Ben Johnson and Marion Jones, bicyclist Floyd Landis,
Number 10 may have more in common with the swimsuit controversy in swimming and less with steroids. It is, after all, "technological" rather than "biological" cheating.
There are other examples one might add: Budge versus von Cramm at Wimbledon,
For those who are interested in reading more on this, I highly recommend A Terrible Splendor by Marshall Jon Fisher.
Don't forget the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. Aside from the "black power" salute controversy, it happened in the shadow of the Tlatelolco Massacre, and helped bring attention to some of the problems Mexico was still facing even after three decades of solid growth.
You've missed Important one: The Cricket Diplomacy
Mr Walt, you have missed an important event, that probably because u can't think of any sport that is popular in the world but not in US. The fourth war between INDIA and PAKISTAN was prevented because of a cricket series.
In 1987, the armed forces of both countries were on the borders with their loaded guns pointing towards each other to start a new war, once again, because of the ill-famed Kashmir Conflict. In this environment of cross border Tension, Pakistani Cricket Captain, Imran Khan, decided to continue with their scheduled tour to India to play several cricket matches. Khan knew it would be his last tour of india as he was soon to be retired from cricket and he wanted to fulfill his long time ambition to defeat India at its home soil. The tour started with the armies of both countries on border, ready to fire on the orders.
Meanwhile, President of Pakistan, Zia-ul-Haq decided to tour India and watch on of the matches of the series. On his tour, he met Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi of India which followed by a long meeting between the delegates of both countries. Just a day after the meeting both countries started to withdraw their troops and war-like situation was over in days. The event was coined as "Cricket Diplomacy".
Just to add, Pakistan ended up winning the series which proved to be the last Indian tour of legendary cricketer and Pakistani Captain Imran Khan. Whole Pakistani nation celebrated the Victory in Banglore Test Match with a lot of ZEAL and fervour.
Joe Louis versus Max Schmeling
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Louis_versus_Max_Schmeling
Dream Team I and II: Unipolarity
As a realist, I see these things as just a reflex of power. Well, think about Dream Team I and II, in the early '90s. Was it not a sign of American Unipolarity?
Now that the world is moving towards multipolarity, indeed, US's advantage in basketball is also eroding. Cheers.
World Chess Championship, 1972
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Chess_Championship_1972
The epic confrontation between Fischer and Spassky - viewed by many as a proxy for Western individualism versus Soviet statism.
I hate to be the guy who points this out, but Germany won the most medals (gold also) in the 1936 Olympics. The old adage that Hitler refused to shake hands with Owens is also, unfortunately, not true. 1936 was important, if not just because Owens won as much as he did, but I don't think highlighting German impotence in the game is being forthright.
1948 - a ruined London puts on the Games, showing that Britain is ready to rejoin the world order but also that a country on the other side of the Atlantic will be leading it.
2008 - China flexes all sorts of muscles.
I would put black september higher on the list, because the olympics are the premier international sporting event. it is why they were created.
As far as other events, soon sports will be on the front page when a major American star plays for another league. Look at Kobe and LeBron looking to take offers from European teams. Someday soon this will happen.
Also, Sports Illustrated and Foreign Policy probably have a lot more readers in common than you would think, just as a lot of political commentators are baseball fanatics.
Eric C (www.onviolence.com)
A comment and a question:
1) The 2008 Olympics provided a perceived distraction that may have contributed to the escalation of the August war between Russian and Georgia.
2) Sabre or foil?
Jesse Owens provided a feel-good moment, as well as a great personal achievement, but in light of the tens of millions who died in the following nine years it's ultimately pretty empty.
I really dislike the overinflation of the importance of American success in women's sports. Would women's sports have been delegitimized had China won that game? Why would the superiority of one country's 11 women over another country's 11 say anything about women in general? No matter what happened, a team of women was going to win that tournament. The only question was whose. And it wasn't really a sign of us "finally demonstrating prowess". The US had won the 1991 World Cup and the 1996 Olympic Gold Medal. Going into that tournament, especially at home, we were the clear favorites. Our prowess in the women's game was already well and truly established.
(Still, this isn't as bad as calling 1996 the "Summer of Women" due to the fact that the United States cleaned up in many of the big women's events at the Olympics.)
@jayeslos - It is disrespectful to describe the recent swimsuit controversy as "cheating". While I dislike the role that technology can play in a sport, no one violated any rules, and all of those times were accurate. Onischenko violated rules and attempted to be awarded points that he had not, in fact, scored.
@mzs321 - Great example, but it's a bit undermined by your bizarre accusation at the beginning. How popular, exactly, do you think modern pentathlon is in the United States? Rugby Union? Yachting? Ping pong?
The US Women's win is significant only in highlighting the contribution of Title IX in addition to America providing greater support to women's sports earlier than other countries. The US Women won simply because they had a much bigger and deeper pool of athletes.
Other countries (Brasil, Germany, etc) have caught up and in some regards surpassed the US. The US has had great athletes that play soccer, but they haven't had many.
Just a minor point: Budge vs. von Cramm was not Wimbledon. It was Davis Cup. There is some interesting newsreel coverage of the match on exhibit right now at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, RI.
Stephen M. Walt is the Robert and Renée Belfer professor of international relations at Harvard University.
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